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Keota, IowaPhoto: Farragutful · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wilson Memorial Library

Keota’s library lends 3.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Wilson Memorial Library serves Keota’s 1,340 residents. Last year it lent 4,091 print books and media and logged 5,585 visits.

109 E Washington Ave, Keota 52248 · about 31 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
4,091
3.1 per resident
Visits a year
5,585
4.2 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
98
about 2 a week · 1,658 attended
Cardholders
61%
814 cards
Open
31 hrs
a week
In brief

What Keota’s library is like

A small-town library

Wilson Memorial Library serves 1,340 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 31 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 ↓

Programs lean toward adults

61% of the 98 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 38 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Keota’s civic life grade

Keota isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Keota’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4.2 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 59%
Borrowing per resident 3.1 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 0.9 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 62%
Program attendance 1.2 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 70%
Programs offered 73.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 58%
Cardholders 61% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 56%
Spending $55 per resident · typical $54Higher than 52%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Wilson Memorial Library serves 1,340 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

5,585
visits
4.2 per resident
4,091
loans, print + digital
3.1 per resident
98
programs & events
1,658 attended
814
library cards
61% of people served
Every open hour3items borrowed
Every week32people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)8 public computers13K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

4,091 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

4,091loans
Books & media (adults) 70%Kids’ books & media 30%
How hard the shelves work
0.3×

Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

98 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Keota →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–56
Ages 6–1132
Teens0
Adults60
All ages0
Little ones
0.1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
6

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Keota last year.

1,658
people at programs
98
programs
The building

Find it

Wilson Memorial Library, 109 E Washington Ave, Keota.

31
hours open a week
8,800
square feet
13K
books & media
With a card

No late fees.

New in Keota? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.10 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Keota cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$55 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $74K.

Local taxes 95%State 3%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $82K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $74K 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 814 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Keota

Does Keota have a public library?

Yes. Wilson Memorial Library, 109 E Washington Ave, serves Keota’s 1,340 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Wilson Memorial Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Keota’s library?

It logged 4.2 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Keota’s civic life grade?

Keota isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Keota.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.