Hamburg Public Library · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Hamburg’s library runs 126 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Hamburg Public Library serves Hamburg’s 1,195 residents. Last year it lent 3,983 print books and media and logged 2,758 visits.
Hamburg’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Hamburg Public Library serves 1,195 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 27 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Nearly everyone in Hamburg has a card
1,135 cards for 1,195 people, or 95%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Hamburg Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Today’s library there has 3,132 square feet. The building ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
28% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 71%. What your card is worth ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Hamburg’s civic life grade
Hamburg isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
A National Register landmark since 1983
Hamburg Public Library, 1301 Main St., Hamburg.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hamburg Public Library
Hamburg Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1983. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the state level. Its architecture is described as Colonial Revival. It was listed as part of Public Library Buildings in Iowa TR.
Hamburg Public Library is located in Hamburg, Iowa, United States. The Carnegie Corporation of New York accepted Hamburg's application for a grant for $9,000 on December 3, 1915. It was dedicated on June 9, 1919. The Georgian Revival style building is five bays wide with its main entrance in the center bay. The single-story brick structure follows a simple rectangular plan.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hamburg Public Library serves 1,195 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,983 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
150 programs a year
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 Hamburg last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hamburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $57K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $73K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $57K 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 1,135 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 Hamburg
Does Hamburg have a public library?
Yes. Hamburg Public Library, 1301 Main St., serves Hamburg’s 1,195 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hamburg Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hamburg’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hamburg’s civic life grade?
Hamburg 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 Hamburg.
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.