Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWaterloo’s library logs 6.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Morrison-Talbott Library serves Waterloo’s 11,013 residents. Last year it lent 89K print books and media and logged 69K visits.
What stands out about Waterloo’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Waterloo’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Waterloo is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #64 of 754 in Illinois. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Waterloo’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
74 community nonprofits are registered in Waterloo
6.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of Waterloo’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 Waterloo’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Morrison-Talbott Library serves 11,013 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
89K 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 Waterloo’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 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
Morrison-Talbott Library, 215 Park Street, Waterloo.
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 $2.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waterloo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $605K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $605K 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 3,209 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Waterloo
Does Waterloo have a public library?
Yes. Morrison-Talbott Library, 215 Park Street, serves Waterloo’s 11,013 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Morrison-Talbott Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Waterloo’s library?
It logged 6.3 visits and lent 8.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Waterloo’s civic life grade?
A Waterloo is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #64 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 Waterloo.
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.