Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Donnellson’s library runs 96 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Donnellson Public Library serves Donnellson’s 3,593 residents. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
What Donnellson’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Donnellson Public Library ran 346 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 96 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,367 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Donnellson Public Library holds 23,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Donnellson’s civic life grade
Donnellson isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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 Donnellson last year.
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.
Donnellson Public Library serves 3,593 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
13K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Find it
Donnellson Public Library, 411 Main, Donnellson.
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 $2.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Donnellson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $98K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $251K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $98K 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 1,352 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 Donnellson
Does Donnellson have a public library?
Yes. Donnellson Public Library, 411 Main, serves Donnellson’s 3,593 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Donnellson Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Donnellson’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 3.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Donnellson’s civic life grade?
Donnellson isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Donnellson.
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.