Photo: Tony Webster · CC BY 2.0Bloomfield’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Bloomfield Public Library serves Bloomfield’s 9,110 residents. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 9,110 visits.
The short version on Bloomfield’s library
Bloomfield Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Bloomfield Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Bloomfield Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2015. Today’s library there has 6,886 square feet. The building ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Bloomfield Public Library holds 27,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Bloomfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bloomfield is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #17 of 138 in Iowa. Bloomfield 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Bloomfield
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.7%
14.7% of Bloomfield’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 Bloomfield’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2015
Bloomfield Public Library, 107 N Columbia St., Bloomfield.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Bloomfield Public Library
Bloomfield Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 13, 2015. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
Bloomfield Public Library is a public library located in Bloomfield, Iowa, United States. A library in Bloomfield dates back to the 1870s when a library association was established. One had to pay a subscription fee in order to borrow books. The Carnegie Corporation of New York had accepted the Commercial Club of Bloomfield's application for a grant for $10,000 on November 21, 1911.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bloomfield Public Library serves 9,110 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
15K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
264 programs a year
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 Bloomfield last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bloomfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $202K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $252K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $202K 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 2,578 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Bloomfield
Does Bloomfield have a public library?
Yes. Bloomfield Public Library, 107 N Columbia St., serves Bloomfield’s 9,110 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bloomfield Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bloomfield’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bloomfield’s civic life grade?
A Bloomfield is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 Bloomfield.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.