Asbury’s library runs 25 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Dubuque County Library serves 32,079 people in and around Asbury. Last year it lent 102K print books and media and logged 74K visits.
What stands out about Dubuque County Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Asbury’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Asbury is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #134 of 138 in Iowa. Asbury is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Asbury’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($94K–$156K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Asbury
0.8 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Asbury’s 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 Asbury’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Dubuque County Library serves 32,079 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dubuque County Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
102K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
About 10 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.
Find it
Dubuque County Library, 5290 Grand Meadow Dr, Asbury.
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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Asbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 17,114 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque | Carnegie-Stout Public Library fine-free | 5.8 | 61 | B |
| Asbury | Dubuque County Library fine-free | — | 56 | C− |
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.
- System-wide. Dubuque County Library serves 32,079 people in and around Asbury, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Asbury.
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 Asbury
Does Asbury have a public library?
Yes. Dubuque County Library, 5290 Grand Meadow Dr, serves 32,079 people in and around Asbury (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dubuque County Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Asbury’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Asbury’s civic life grade?
C− Asbury is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #134 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 Asbury.
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.