Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0Epworth’s library is a branch of Dubuque County Library, which lends less per resident than 57% of systems its size
Epworth’s library is the Epworth Branch, a branch of Dubuque County Library, which serves 32,079 people and lent 102K items last year.
What stands out about Epworth Branch
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Epworth’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Epworth is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Epworth is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Epworth’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Epworth
12.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Epworth’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 Epworth’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Dubuque County Library serves 32,079 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dubuque County Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
102K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
About 10 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Epworth Branch, 110 Bierman Rd, Epworth.
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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Epworth cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 17,114 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.
- System-wide. Epworth Branch is one branch of Dubuque County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 32,079 people it serves.
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 Epworth
Does Epworth have a public library?
Yes: Epworth Branch, 110 Bierman Rd, is a branch of Dubuque County Library, which serves 32,079 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dubuque County Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Epworth’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Epworth’s civic life grade?
A Epworth is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Epworth.
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.