Photo: Dirk DBQ · CC BY 2.0Ames’ library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Ames Public Library serves Ames’s 73,008 residents. Last year it lent 737K print books and media and logged 332K visits.
What Ames’s library is like
Ames’s kids borrow the most in Iowa
Out of 50 Iowa towns with a library of their own, Ames comes first for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #3 for borrowing. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 58 items per child in Ames last year. Kids & programs ↓
Ames is a town of borrowers
Ames Public Library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 3.4 times last year. What people borrow ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
Ames Public Library is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 182 items go out. The building ↓
A place to get online
Ames Public Library logs about 963 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 63 public computers. That’s 4.8 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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.
What’s behind Ames’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ames is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #81 of 138 in Iowa. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
301 community nonprofits are registered in Ames
4.5 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 (46 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 20 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Ames’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa 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 Ames’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Ames Public Library serves 73,008 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 182 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
737K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 218K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.4 times last year, on average.
About 28 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Ames last year.
Find it
Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave, Ames.
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 $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ames cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.4M 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 49,203 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ames | Ames Public Library fine-free | 10.1 | 68 | B+ |
| Nevada | Nevada Public Library fine-free | 5.3 | 54 | 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. The library didn’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 Ames
Does Ames have a public library?
Yes. Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave, serves Ames’ 73,008 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ames Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ames’ library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 10.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ames’ civic life grade?
B+ Ames is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #81 of 138 in Iowa. 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 Ames.
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.