WCF & N Center Point Depot and Substation · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Center Point’s library logs 7.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Andersen Center Point Public Library serves Center Point’s 9,379 residents. Last year it lent 52K print books and media and logged 67K visits.
Center Point’s library, in brief
Busy on a lean budget
Andersen Center Point Public Library spends $27 per resident, less than 74% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). It’s still busier than 78% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
23,000 people came to the library’s 628 programs last year: 2.4 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries. 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 Center Point’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Center Point is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #35 of 138 in Iowa. Center Point is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Center Point’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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Center Point
8.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
8.6%
8.6% of Center Point’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 Center Point’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Center Point last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Andersen Center Point Public Library serves 9,379 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
52K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Find it
Andersen Center Point Public Library, 720 Main St., Center Point.
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 $3.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Center Point cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $257K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $257K 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 4,324 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 Center Point
Does Center Point have a public library?
Yes. Andersen Center Point Public Library, 720 Main St., serves Center Point’s 9,379 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Andersen Center Point Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Center Point’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 5.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Center Point’s civic life grade?
A Center Point is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 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 Center Point.
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.