Photo: Dirk · CC BY 2.0Dubuque’s library lends 5.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Carnegie-Stout Public Library serves Dubuque’s 60,309 residents. Last year it lent 350K print books and media and logged 213K visits.
The short version on Dubuque’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie-Stout Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Today’s library there has 54,000 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 1,013 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
79% of Dubuque carry a library card
47,734 cards for 60,309 people, or 79%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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 Dubuque’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dubuque is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #97 of 138 in Iowa. Dubuque’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 →
325 community nonprofits are registered in Dubuque
5.5 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 (68 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.4%
7.4% of Dubuque’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 Dubuque’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Carnegie-Stout Public Library serves 60,309 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 110 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
350K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 168K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
About 14 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 Dubuque last year.
A National Register landmark since 1975
Carnegie-Stout Public Library, 360 W 11th St., Dubuque.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie-Stout Public Library
Carnegie-Stout Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 1, 1975. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Beaux Arts.
The Carnegie-Stout Public Library is located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. The public library had its beginnings with the Young Men's Literary Association, established in 1859, and their book collection was the basis for the library's collection. The books were housed in a variety of buildings over the years.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dubuque cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 47,734 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque | Carnegie-Stout Public Library fine-free | 5.8 | 61 | B |
| Asbury | Dubuque County Library fine-free | — | 56 | C− |
| Dunleith Township | East Dubuque District Library fine-free | — | 49 | B− |
| Jamestown | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Sageville | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Dubuque
Does Dubuque have a public library?
Yes. Carnegie-Stout Public Library, 360 W 11th St., serves Dubuque’s 60,309 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie-Stout Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dubuque’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 5.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Dubuque’s civic life grade?
B Dubuque is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #97 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 Dubuque.
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.