Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Mount Pleasant’s library runs 60 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Mount Pleasant Public Library serves Mount Pleasant’s 13,188 residents. Last year it lent 49K print books and media and logged 42K visits.
What Mount Pleasant’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 786 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Mount Pleasant Public Library ran 786 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 60 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. 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 Mount Pleasant’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mount Pleasant is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #57 of 138 in Iowa. Mount Pleasant is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Mount Pleasant’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Mount Pleasant
6.7 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 (14 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.
7.9%
7.9% of Mount Pleasant’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 Mount Pleasant’s residents live; 2022.
About 13 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 Mount Pleasant last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mount Pleasant Public Library serves 13,188 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
49K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Mount Pleasant Public Library, 307 E Monroe Suite 101, Mount Pleasant.
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 $1.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mount Pleasant cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $415K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $795K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $415K 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 5,259 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 Mount Pleasant
Does Mount Pleasant have a public library?
Yes. Mount Pleasant Public Library, 307 E Monroe Suite 101, serves Mount Pleasant’s 13,188 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mount Pleasant Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Mount Pleasant’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 3.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Mount Pleasant’s civic life grade?
A− Mount Pleasant is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #57 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 Mount Pleasant.
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.