Silvis’ library lends 3.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Silvis Public Library serves Silvis’s 8,003 residents. Last year it lent 25K print books and media and logged 23K visits.
What stands out about Silvis’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Silvis’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Silvis is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #340 of 754 in Illinois. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Silvis’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Silvis
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.6%
12.6% of Silvis’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Silvis’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Silvis Public Library serves 8,003 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
25K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Silvis’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Silvis Public Library, 806 1st Avenue, Silvis.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Silvis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $567K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $519K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $567K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 2,265 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silvis | Silvis Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 57 | B− |
| East Moline | East Moline Public Library fine-free | 2.6 | 54 | C+ |
| Carbon Cliff | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Silvis
Does Silvis have a public library?
Yes. Silvis Public Library, 806 1st Avenue, serves Silvis’ 8,003 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Silvis Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Silvis’ library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Silvis’ civic life grade?
B− Silvis is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #340 of 754 in Illinois. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Silvis.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.