Laurens Carnegie Free Library · Photo: CelticClicker · CC BY-SA 3.0Laurens’ library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Laurens Public Library serves Laurens’s 1,919 residents. Last year it lent 31K print books and media and logged 25K visits.
Laurens’s library, in brief
Laurens uses its library more than almost any town its size
Laurens Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 68 items per child in Laurens last year. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Laurens Carnegie Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. Today’s library there has 5,000 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 227 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Laurens invests in its library
Laurens Public Library spends $115 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Laurens’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Laurens is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns. Laurens is graded on two of the three inputs. Laurens’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Laurens
10.8 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.6%
4.6% of Laurens’ 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 Laurens’ 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 Laurens last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Laurens Public Library serves 1,919 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
31K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 1974
Laurens Public Library, 273 N Third, Laurens.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Laurens Carnegie Free Library
Laurens Carnegie Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 5, 1974. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Mission.
Laurens Carnegie Free Library is a historic building located in Laurens, Iowa, United States. It was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Wetherell and Gage and completed in 1910. The Carnegie Corporation of New York had accepted the application for a grant from Laurens' literary association for $3,800 on February 6, 1907.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Laurens cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $221K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $509K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $221K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,507 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 Laurens
Does Laurens have a public library?
Yes. Laurens Public Library, 273 N Third, serves Laurens’ 1,919 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Laurens Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Laurens’ library?
It logged 13.2 visits and lent 16.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Laurens’ civic life grade?
B Laurens is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Laurens.
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.