Photo: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Cascade’s library lends 9.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Cascade Public Library serves Cascade’s 3,028 residents. Last year it lent 30K print books and media and logged 14K visits.
The short version on Cascade’s library
Cascade is a town of borrowers
Cascade Public Library lends 9.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 91% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 51% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Cascade last year. Kids & programs ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Cascade Public Library ran 308 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 102 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 5,700 attended. 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.
What’s behind Cascade’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cascade is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. Cascade is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Cascade’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Cascade
5.1 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.
8.0%
8.0% of Cascade’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 Cascade’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Cascade last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Cascade Public Library serves 3,028 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
30K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
Find it
Cascade Public Library, 301 1st Av W, Cascade.
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 $3.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cascade cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $159K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $492K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $159K 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 1,475 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 Cascade
Does Cascade have a public library?
Yes. Cascade Public Library, 301 1st Av W, serves Cascade’s 3,028 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cascade Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cascade’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 9.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cascade’s civic life grade?
B+ Cascade is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Cascade.
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.