Photo: TheCatalyst31 · CC BY-SA 4.0Jesup’s library runs 53 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Jesup Public Library serves Jesup’s 6,550 residents. Last year it lent 32K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
What stands out about Jesup’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Jesup’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jesup is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #10 of 138 in Iowa. Jesup is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Jesup
7.4 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.5%
12.5% of Jesup’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 Jesup’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Jesup Public Library serves 6,550 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
32K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
About 2 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 Jesup last year.
Find it
Jesup Public Library, 721 6th St., Jesup.
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 $3.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jesup cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $158K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $502K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $158K 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 2,999 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 Jesup
Does Jesup have a public library?
Yes. Jesup Public Library, 721 6th St., serves Jesup’s 6,550 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jesup Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Jesup’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Jesup’s civic life grade?
A+ Jesup is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Jesup.
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.