Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Osage’s library logs 6.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Osage Public Library serves Osage’s 4,771 residents. Last year it lent 29K print books and media and logged 31K visits.
What Osage’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 190 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Osage Public Library is above the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
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 Osage’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Osage is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 138 in Iowa. Osage is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Osage’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 →
52 community nonprofits are registered in Osage
14.6 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.3%
12.3% of Osage’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 Osage’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Osage Public Library serves 4,771 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
29K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
About 4 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 Osage last year.
Find it
Osage Public Library, 406 Main St., Osage.
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 $1.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Osage cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $266K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $493K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $266K 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 2,852 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 Osage
Does Osage have a public library?
Yes. Osage Public Library, 406 Main St., serves Osage’s 4,771 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Osage Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Osage’s library?
It logged 6.6 visits and lent 6.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Osage’s civic life grade?
A+ Osage is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Osage.
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.