Photo: PopePompus · CC BY-SA 4.0Norwalk’s library runs 44 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Norwalk Easter Public Library serves Norwalk’s 16,949 residents. Last year it lent 83K print books and media and logged 73K visits.
The short version on Norwalk’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 88% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Norwalk last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
21,000 people came to the library’s 746 programs last year: 1.2 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 92% of similar-size libraries. 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 Norwalk’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Norwalk is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #100 of 138 in Iowa. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Norwalk’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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Norwalk
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 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.
8.9%
8.9% of Norwalk’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 Norwalk’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 Norwalk last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Norwalk Easter Public Library serves 16,949 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 32 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
83K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times last year, on average.
Find it
Norwalk Easter Public Library, 1051 North Ave, Norwalk.
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 $1.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norwalk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 7,213 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Norwalk ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Des Moines | West Des Moines Public Library | 6.1 | 64 | B |
| Norwalk | Norwalk Easter Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 51 | B |
| Des Moines | Des Moines Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 62 | 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 Norwalk
Does Norwalk have a public library?
Yes. Norwalk Easter Public Library, 1051 North Ave, serves Norwalk’s 16,949 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Norwalk Easter Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Norwalk’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Norwalk’s civic life grade?
B Norwalk is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life, #100 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 Norwalk.
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.