South Rock Island Township’s library runs 27 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Rock Island Public Library serves 37,108 people in and around South Rock Island Township. Last year it lent 154K print books and media and logged 120K visits.
What stands out about South Rock Island Township’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind South Rock Island Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, South Rock Island Township is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #130 of 754 in Illinois. South Rock Island Township is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
72 community nonprofits are registered in South Rock Island Township
4.0 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.6%
10.6% of South Rock Island Township’s 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 South Rock Island Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Rock Island Public Library serves 37,108 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
154K 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 South Rock Island Township’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 162K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Watts-Midtown Branch Library, 2715 30th Street, Rock Island.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Rock Island Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3M 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 15,737 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Rock Island Township ranks 3rd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moline | Moline Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 61 | B+ |
| South Moline Township | Moline Public Library fine-free | 5.2 | 61 | B |
| South Rock Island Township | Watts-Midtown Branch Library fine-free | 4.2 | 56 | A− |
| Blackhawk Township | Southwest Branch Library fine-free | 4.2 | 44 | A |
| Rock Island Township | Rock Island Public Library fine-free | 4.2 | 44 | A− |
| Rock Island | Rock Island Public Library fine-free | 4.2 | 44 | B+ |
| Davenport | Davenport Public Library fine-free | 2.9 | 54 | B |
| Moline Township | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Milan | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
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 South Rock Island Township
Does South Rock Island Township have a public library?
Yes. Rock Island Public Library, 2715 30th Street, serves 37,108 people in and around South Rock Island Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rock Island Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is South Rock Island Township’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is South Rock Island Township’s civic life grade?
A− South Rock Island Township is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #130 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 South Rock Island Township.
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.