Indianola High School · Photo: Paul R. Burley · CC BY-SA 4.0Indianola’s library lends 5.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Indianola Public Library serves Indianola’s 24,741 residents. Last year it lent 142K print books and media and logged 82K visits.
What Indianola’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Indianola Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2017. Today’s library there has 11,250 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 562 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.8 a week 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.
What’s behind Indianola’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Indianola is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #25 of 138 in Iowa. Indianola is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Indianola’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 →
101 community nonprofits are registered in Indianola
6.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.0%
10.0% of Indianola’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 Indianola’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2017
Indianola Public Library, 207 N B St., Indianola.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Indianola Carnegie Library
Indianola Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 5, 2017. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
The Indianola Carnegie Library is a historic building located in Indianola, Iowa, United States.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Indianola Public Library serves 24,741 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
142K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.1 times last year, on average.
About 7 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 Indianola last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Indianola cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $849K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $849K 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 8,619 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 Indianola
Does Indianola have a public library?
Yes. Indianola Public Library, 207 N B St., serves Indianola’s 24,741 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Indianola Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Indianola’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 5.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Indianola’s civic life grade?
A Indianola is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 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 Indianola.
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.