Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Denison’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Norelius Community Library serves Denison’s 12,367 residents. Last year it lent 32K print books and media and logged 67K visits.
What Denison’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 81% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 33%. The building also logs about 18 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 302 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.1 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Denison’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Denison is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #129 of 138 in Iowa. Denison is graded on two of the three inputs. Denison’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$82K) 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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Denison
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.4%
3.4% of Denison’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 Denison’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Norelius Community Library serves 12,367 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
32K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
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 Denison last year.
Find it
Norelius Community Library, 1403 1st Ave South, Denison.
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 $1.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Denison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $412K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $544K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $412K 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 4,799 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 Denison
Does Denison have a public library?
Yes. Norelius Community Library, 1403 1st Ave South, serves Denison’s 12,367 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Norelius Community Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Denison’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 2.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Denison’s civic life grade?
C Denison is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #129 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 Denison.
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.