Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Edgewood

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Edgewood, IA libraryPhoto: TheCatalyst31 · CC BY 4.0
Edgewood Public Library

Edgewood’s library lends 5.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Edgewood Public Library serves Edgewood’s 2,634 residents. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and logged 6,660 visits.

203 W Union St., Edgewood 52042 · about 40 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
13K
5.1 per resident
Visits a year
6,660
2.5 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
81
about 2 a week · 1,103 attended
Cardholders
49%
1,294 cards
Open
40 hrs
a week

What stands out about Edgewood’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Edgewood’s civic life grade

Edgewood isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Edgewood’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.5 visits · typical 3Lower than 58%
Borrowing per resident 5.1 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 64%
Kids’ borrowing 2.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 73%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 57%
Programs offered 30.8 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 55%
Cardholders 49% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 61%
Spending $35 per resident · typical $43Lower than 61%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Edgewood Public Library serves 2,634 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

6,660
visits
2.5 per resident
13K
loans, print + digital
5.1 per resident
81
programs & events
1,103 attended
1,294
library cards
49% of people served
Every open hour6items borrowed
Every week21people at a program
Every day5Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers15K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

13K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

13Kloans
Books & media (adults) 47%Kids’ books & media 53%
How hard the shelves work
0.9×

Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

About 1 kids’ program a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Edgewood →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–537
Ages 6–1128
Teens4
Adults9
All ages3
Little ones
0.7

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
68

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Edgewood last year.

1,103
people at programs
81
programs
The building

Find it

Edgewood Public Library, 203 W Union St., Edgewood.

40
hours open a week
2,282
square feet
15K
books & media
With a card

No late fees.

New in Edgewood? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.24 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edgewood cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$35 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $93K.

Local taxes 77%State 2%Gifts & other 21%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $207K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $93K 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 1,294 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Edgewood

Does Edgewood have a public library?

Yes. Edgewood Public Library, 203 W Union St., serves Edgewood’s 2,634 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Edgewood Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Edgewood’s library?

It logged 2.5 visits and lent 5.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Edgewood’s civic life grade?

Edgewood 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 Edgewood.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.