Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Council Bluffs’ library runs 25 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Council Bluffs Public Library serves Council Bluffs’s 79,080 residents. Last year it lent 219K print books and media and logged 175K visits.
Council Bluffs’s library, in brief
The library is a National Register landmark
Council Bluffs Free Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999. Today’s library there has 67,500 square feet. The building ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
Council Bluffs Public Library is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 63 items go out. The building ↓
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 Council Bluffs’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Council Bluffs is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. Council Bluffs is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Council Bluffs’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$81K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
163 community nonprofits are registered in Council Bluffs
2.6 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 (43 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.2%
5.2% of Council Bluffs’ 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 Council Bluffs’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Council Bluffs Public Library serves 79,080 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 63 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
219K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 147K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
About 16 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 Council Bluffs last year.
A National Register landmark since 1999
Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Ave, Council Bluffs.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Council Bluffs Free Public Library
Council Bluffs Free Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 27, 1999. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts Classicism.
The Council Bluffs Public Library is a public library in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The library serves the residents of Council Bluffs, along with unincorporated and rural areas of Pottawattamie County. Several cities also contract with the library to provide services. It dates back to 1866. The library is currently located on Willow Avenue and opened in 1998.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Council Bluffs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.4M 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 52,687 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Council Bluffs ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | Bellevue Public Library | 5.9 | 66 | C− |
| Council Bluffs | Council Bluffs Public Library fine-free | 2.8 | 66 | D |
| Carter Lake | Carter Lake Public Library fine-free | 2.2 | 44 | C− |
| Omaha | Millard Branch Library fine-free | — | 64 | C+ |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Council Bluffs
Does Council Bluffs have a public library?
Yes. Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Ave, serves Council Bluffs’ 79,080 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Council Bluffs Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Council Bluffs’ library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Council Bluffs’ civic life grade?
D Council Bluffs is ahead of 12% 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 Council Bluffs.
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.