Photo: Catherine Palczewski / FortepanIowa · CC BY-SA 4.0Hartley’s library logs 2.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hartley Public Library serves Hartley’s 1,853 residents. Last year it lent 5,611 print books and media and logged 4,361 visits.
Hartley’s library, in brief
Federal money pays a real share
98% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Hartley Public Library serves 1,853 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 29 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 ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 71% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 65% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 66 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 24 for ages 0–5. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Hartley’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hartley is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns. Hartley’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 Hartley
7.7 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.9%
3.9% of Hartley’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 Hartley’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hartley Public Library serves 1,853 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5,611 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
66 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 Hartley last year.
Find it
Hartley Public Library, 91 1st St. SE, Hartley.
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 Hartley cardholder borrows.
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 1,260 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Hartley
Does Hartley have a public library?
Yes. Hartley Public Library, 91 1st St. SE, serves Hartley’s 1,853 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hartley Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hartley’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hartley’s civic life grade?
C+ Hartley is ahead of 37% 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 Hartley.
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.