Merchants' National Bank · Photo: Einar Einarsson Kvaran aka Carptrash · CC BY-SA 3.0Grinnell’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Drake Community Library serves Grinnell’s 13,483 residents. Last year it lent 56K print books and media and logged 59K visits.
What Grinnell’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Stewart Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. Today’s library there has 30,000 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 375 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
Drake Community Library is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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 Grinnell’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grinnell is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #42 of 138 in Iowa. Grinnell is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Grinnell’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 →
69 community nonprofits are registered in Grinnell
7.3 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Grinnell’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 Grinnell’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1976
Drake Community Library, 930 Park St., Grinnell.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Stewart Library
Stewart Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 21, 1976. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Romanesque Revival.
The Stewart Building, formerly home to Stewart Library and current home to the Grinnell Area Arts Council, is a historic building located in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. Joel Stewart was a farmer, banker, and state legislator who was known for his philanthropic activities. Included in these activities was the organization and construction of a public library for Grinnell.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Drake Community Library serves 13,483 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
56K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 62K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
About 5 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 Grinnell last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grinnell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $778K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $958K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $778K 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 7,522 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 Grinnell
Does Grinnell have a public library?
Yes. Drake Community Library, 930 Park St., serves Grinnell’s 13,483 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Drake Community Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Grinnell’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 4.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Grinnell’s civic life grade?
A Grinnell is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #42 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 Grinnell.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.