Photo: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Keokuk’s library runs 51 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Keokuk Public Library serves Keokuk’s 11,311 residents. Last year it lent 42K print books and media and logged 23K visits.
The short version on Keokuk’s library
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 577 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 159 were for children. 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 Keokuk’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Keokuk is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #74 of 138 in Iowa. Keokuk’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
73 community nonprofits are registered in Keokuk
7.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.2%
10.2% of Keokuk’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 Keokuk’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Keokuk last year.
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.
Keokuk Public Library serves 11,311 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
42K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Keokuk Public Library, 210 N 5th St., Keokuk.
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 $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Keokuk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $583K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $753K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $583K 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 4,742 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Keokuk borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keokuk | Keokuk Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 49 | B+ |
| Montebello Township | Hamilton Public Library | 2.1 | 40 | A− |
| Hamilton | Hamilton Public Library | 2.1 | 40 | B |
| Sandusky | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Keokuk
Does Keokuk have a public library?
Yes. Keokuk Public Library, 210 N 5th St., serves Keokuk’s 11,311 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Keokuk Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Keokuk’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Keokuk’s civic life grade?
B+ Keokuk is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #74 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 Keokuk.
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.