Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0Linden’s library runs 261 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Linden Public Library serves Linden’s 245 residents. Last year it lent 797 print books and media and logged 1,648 visits.
The short version on Linden’s library
Open only about 14 hours a week
Linden Public Library keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Linden Public Library ran 64 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 261 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Linden Public Library serves 245 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 75%. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Linden Public Library logs about 3 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 4.5 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Linden’s civic life grade
Linden isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
64 programs a year
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Linden Public Library serves 245 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
797 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 4,753 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Linden Public Library, 131 S Main St., Linden.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Linden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $30K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $20K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $30K 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 176 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 Linden
Does Linden have a public library?
Yes. Linden Public Library, 131 S Main St., serves Linden’s 245 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Linden Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Linden’s library?
It logged 6.7 visits and lent 3.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Linden’s civic life grade?
Linden 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 Linden.
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.