Photo: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Iowa Falls’ library logs 8.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Robert W. Barlow Memorial Library serves Iowa Falls’s 7,013 residents. Last year it lent 36K print books and media and logged 59K visits.
What stands out about Iowa Falls’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Iowa Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Iowa Falls is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #20 of 138 in Iowa State. Iowa Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Iowa Falls’ 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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Iowa Falls
9.3 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Iowa Falls’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Iowa State 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 Iowa Falls’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Robert W. Barlow Memorial Library serves 7,013 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
36K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
About 4 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 Iowa Falls last year.
Find it
Robert W. Barlow Memorial Library, 921 Washington Ave, Iowa Falls.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Iowa Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $361K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $657K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $361K 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 5,065 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 Iowa Falls
Does Iowa Falls have a public library?
Yes. Robert W. Barlow Memorial Library, 921 Washington Ave, serves Iowa Falls’ 7,013 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Robert W. Barlow Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Iowa Falls’ library?
It logged 8.4 visits and lent 5.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Iowa Falls’ civic life grade?
A Iowa Falls is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 of 138 in Iowa State. 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 Iowa Falls.
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.