Photo: Dan Breyfogle · CC BY-SA 3.0Boone’s library runs 48 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Ericson Public Library serves Boone’s 19,573 residents. Last year it lent 118K print books and media and logged 61K visits.
What stands out about Boone’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Boone’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Boone is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #15 of 138 in Iowa. Boone is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Boone’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 →
92 community nonprofits are registered in Boone
7.4 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 (17 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.
10.7%
10.7% of Boone’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 Boone’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Boone last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Ericson Public Library serves 19,573 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 43 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
118K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 72K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 1983
Ericson Public Library, 702 Greene St., Boone.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Ericson Public Library
Ericson Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1983. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the state level. Its architecture is described as Renaissance. It was listed as part of Public Library Buildings in Iowa TR.
Ericson Public Library is located in Boone, Iowa, United States. The public library building was a gift of C.J.A. Ericson, a local businessman and politician, who served five terms in the Iowa General Assembly. While in the state legislature he advocated for libraries on a statewide level. He was also a longtime member of the Iowa Library Association.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Boone cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $711K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $711K 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 4,860 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 Boone
Does Boone have a public library?
Yes. Ericson Public Library, 702 Greene St., serves Boone’s 19,573 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ericson Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Boone’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 6.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Boone’s civic life grade?
A Boone is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 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 Boone.
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.