Mason City Public Library · Photo: Dan Breyfogle · CC BY-SA 3.0Nora Springs’ library lends 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Nora Springs Public Library serves Nora Springs’s 1,734 residents. Last year it lent 2,896 print books and media and logged 5,327 visits.
What stands out about Nora Springs’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Nora Springs’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Nora Springs is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. Nora Springs is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Nora Springs’ 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Nora Springs
8.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.1%
11.1% of Nora Springs’ 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 Nora Springs’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Nora Springs Public Library serves 1,734 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
2,896 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,850 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
50 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Nora Springs last year.
Find it
Nora Springs Public Library, 45 N Hawkeye, Nora Springs.
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 Nora Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $61K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 1,102 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 Nora Springs
Does Nora Springs have a public library?
Yes. Nora Springs Public Library, 45 N Hawkeye, serves Nora Springs’ 1,734 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nora Springs Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Nora Springs’ library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Nora Springs’ civic life grade?
A+ Nora Springs is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Nora Springs.
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.