Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0Marion’s library runs 33 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Marion Public Library serves Marion’s 48,866 residents. Last year it lent 391K print books and media and logged 179K visits.
What Marion’s library is like
Programs draw a crowd
61,000 people came to the library’s 1,595 programs last year: 1.3 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Marion Carnegie Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994. Today’s library there has 51,240 square feet. The building ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 52% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Marion last year. 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 Marion’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Marion is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #105 of 138 in Iowa. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Marion’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
111 community nonprofits are registered in Marion
2.7 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 (20 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.
10.5%
10.5% of Marion’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 Marion’s residents live; 2022.
About 7 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 Marion last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Marion Public Library serves 48,866 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 122 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
391K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 143K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 1994
Marion Public Library, 1101 6th Ave, Marion.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Marion Carnegie Public Library
Marion Carnegie Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 25, 1994. It is significant for its education, town planning and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival.
The Marion Carnegie Public Library is a historic building located in Marion, Iowa, United States. The Marion Federation of Women's Clubs was established in 1901 with the purpose of organizing a public library. Adeliza Daniels was the primary force behind the organization, and she contacted Andrew Carnegie to donate funds for the building.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Marion cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 20,342 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | Marion Public Library fine-free | 8.0 | 62 | B |
| Cedar Rapids | Cedar Rapids Public Library fine-free | 3.1 | 64 | B+ |
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 Marion
Does Marion have a public library?
Yes. Marion Public Library, 1101 6th Ave, serves Marion’s 48,866 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marion Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Marion’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 8.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Marion’s civic life grade?
B Marion is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #105 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 Marion.
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.