Photo: Dirk Hansen · CC BY-SA 3.0Dyersville’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
James Kennedy Public Library serves Dyersville’s 5,119 residents. Last year it lent 83K print books and media and logged 61K visits.
What Dyersville’s library is like
Dyersville ranks 2nd in Iowa for library use
Out of 51 Iowa towns with a library of their own, Dyersville comes 2nd for visits per resident. It’s also #2 for borrowing and #3 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Dyersville uses its library more than almost any town its size
James Kennedy Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
James Kennedy Public Library ran 767 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 150 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 14,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 35 items per child in Dyersville last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
59% of the 767 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 211 were for children. 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 Dyersville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Dyersville is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #36 of 138 in Iowa. Library visits hold 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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Dyersville
7.7 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Dyersville’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 Dyersville’s residents live; 2022.
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 Dyersville last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
James Kennedy Public Library serves 5,119 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
83K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 54K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
Find it
James Kennedy Public Library, 320 1st Ave E, Dyersville.
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 $2.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dyersville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $536K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $536K 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 4,267 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 Dyersville
Does Dyersville have a public library?
Yes. James Kennedy Public Library, 320 1st Ave E, serves Dyersville’s 5,119 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is James Kennedy Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dyersville’s library?
It logged 11.9 visits and lent 16.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dyersville’s civic life grade?
A Dyersville is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #36 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 Dyersville.
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.