Eastern Monroe Public Library
Eastern Monroe Public Library serves 89,862 people in and around Arlington Heights. Last year it lent 286K books, movies and e-books and logged 188K visits.
Arlington Heights’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
56% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Eastern Monroe Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 639 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 228 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; Eastern Monroe Public Library serves 89,862 people in and around Arlington Heights, and its numbers cover all of them.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Arlington Heights cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 25,392 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Eastern Monroe Public Library, 1002 North 9th St., Stroudsburg.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Eastern Monroe Public Library branch.
New in Arlington Heights? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eastern Monroe Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
Eastern Monroe Public Library serves 89,862 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
286K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
39,971 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington Heights | Eastern Monroe Public Library fine-free | — | 62 |
| Stroud | Eastern Monroe Public Library fine-free | — | 62 |
| East Stroudsburg | None of its own | — | — |
| Stroudsburg | None of its own | — | — |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
- System-wide. Eastern Monroe Public Library serves 89,862 people in and around Arlington Heights, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Arlington Heights.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Arlington Heights.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.