Photo: Iowaryan at English Wikipedia · Public domainGlenwood’s library lends 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Glenwood Public Library serves Glenwood’s 11,537 residents. Last year it lent 19K print books and media and logged 32K visits.
What Glenwood’s library is like
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 73% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 64% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Glenwood Public Library holds 37,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Glenwood’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Glenwood is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #41 of 138 in Iowa. Glenwood is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Glenwood’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 →
49 community nonprofits are registered in Glenwood
9.5 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.1%
8.1% of Glenwood’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 Glenwood’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Glenwood Public Library serves 11,537 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
19K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 37K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
About 3 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 Glenwood last year.
Find it
Glenwood Public Library, 109 N Vine St., Glenwood.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Glenwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $418K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $351K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $418K 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 4,645 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 Glenwood
Does Glenwood have a public library?
Yes. Glenwood Public Library, 109 N Vine St., serves Glenwood’s 11,537 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Glenwood Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Glenwood’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Glenwood’s civic life grade?
A Glenwood is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #41 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 Glenwood.
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.