Photo: Boscophotos · CC BY-SA 3.0Newton’s library logs 2.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Newton Public Library serves Newton’s 22,427 residents. Last year it lent 96K print books and media and logged 60K visits.
What stands out about Newton’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Newton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Newton is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #86 of 138 in Iowa. Newton is graded on two of the three inputs. Newton’s 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 →
91 community nonprofits are registered in Newton
5.8 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Newton’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 Newton’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Newton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Newton Public Library serves 22,427 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
96K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 71K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
Find it
Newton Public Library, 100 N 3rd Ave W, Newton.
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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Newton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $869K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $869K 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 11,432 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton | Newton Public Library | 4.3 | 49 | B+ |
| Lambs Grove | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Newton
Does Newton have a public library?
Yes. Newton Public Library, 100 N 3rd Ave W, serves Newton’s 22,427 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Newton Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Newton’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Newton’s civic life grade?
B+ Newton is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #86 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 Newton.
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.