Photo: Mavis Cook / FortepanIowa · CC BY-SA 4.0Meservey’s library runs 636 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Meservey Public Library serves Meservey’s 253 residents. Last year it lent 759 print books and media and logged 3,652 visits.
The short version on Meservey’s library
More library cards than residents
438 cards for 253 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 95% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 39%. The building also logs about 3 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 99% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
11 times the programs of a typical library its size
Meservey Public Library ran 161 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 636 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 4,704 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Meservey Public Library serves 253 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
35% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. 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 Meservey’s civic life grade
Meservey 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 →
About 2 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Meservey Public Library serves 253 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Meservey Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
759 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 8,326 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Meservey Public Library, 719 1st St., Meservey.
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 $1.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Meservey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $45K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $62K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45K 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 438 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 Meservey
Does Meservey have a public library?
Yes. Meservey Public Library, 719 1st St., serves Meservey’s 253 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Meservey Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Meservey’s library?
It logged 14.4 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Meservey’s civic life grade?
Meservey 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 Meservey.
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.