Pleasant Grove Community Church and Cemetery · Photo: Dagwin57 · CC BY-SA 3.0Gilbert’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Bertha Bartlett Public Library serves 3,653 people in and around Gilbert. Last year it lent 36K print books and media and logged 39K visits.
The short version on Gilbert’s library
More library cards than residents
6,175 cards for 3,653 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Gilbert uses its library more than almost any town its size
Bertha Bartlett Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Bertha Bartlett Public Library ran 402 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 110 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 6,766 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
Bertha Bartlett Public Library keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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 Gilbert’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Gilbert is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Gilbert is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Gilbert’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Gilbert
8.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Gilbert’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 Gilbert’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.
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.
Bertha Bartlett Public Library serves 3,653 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
36K 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 0.7 time last year, on average.
Find it
Gilbert Library-Branch of Bertha Bartlett Public Library, 207 Main St., Gilbert.
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 $2.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gilbert cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $268K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $630K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $268K 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 6,175 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 Gilbert
Does Gilbert have a public library?
Yes. Bertha Bartlett Public Library, 207 Main St., serves 3,653 people in and around Gilbert (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bertha Bartlett Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Gilbert’s library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 10.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Gilbert’s civic life grade?
A Gilbert is ahead of 93% 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 Gilbert.
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.