Photo: Jason McLaren · CC BY-SA 4.0Chariton’s library logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Chariton Free Public Library serves Chariton’s 8,252 residents. Last year it lent 23K print books and media and logged 33K visits.
What stands out about Chariton’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Chariton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chariton is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #106 of 138 in Iowa. Chariton is graded on two of the three inputs. Chariton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Chariton
8.7 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.0%
5.0% of Chariton’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 Chariton’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2005
Chariton Free Public Library, 803 Braden Ave, Chariton.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Chariton Free Public Library
Chariton Free Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 24, 2005. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival.
Chariton Public Library is located in Chariton, Iowa, United States. The Library and Reading Room Association was formed in Chariton in 1879, but it was short-lived. The county superintendent of schools started a teachers' library in the courthouse sometime afterward. By this time the community had a library of 800 volumes.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Chariton Free Public Library serves 8,252 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
23K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
108 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 Chariton last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chariton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $200K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $376K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $200K 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 3,541 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 Chariton
Does Chariton have a public library?
Yes. Chariton Free Public Library, 803 Braden Ave, serves Chariton’s 8,252 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chariton Free Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chariton’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chariton’s civic life grade?
B Chariton is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #106 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 Chariton.
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.