Dahlonega School #1 · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Ottumwa’s library logs 2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Ottumwa Public Library serves Ottumwa’s 28,910 residents. Last year it lent 78K print books and media and logged 58K visits.
The short version on Ottumwa’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
28% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 71%. What your card is worth ↓
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 Ottumwa’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ottumwa is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #120 of 138 in Iowa. Ottumwa’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$76K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
103 community nonprofits are registered in Ottumwa
4.1 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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.4%
7.4% of Ottumwa’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 Ottumwa’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Ottumwa Public Library serves 28,910 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
78K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times 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 Ottumwa last year.
Find it
Ottumwa Public Library, 102 W 4th St., Ottumwa.
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 $1.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ottumwa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $998K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $998K 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 14,796 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 Ottumwa
Does Ottumwa have a public library?
Yes. Ottumwa Public Library, 102 W 4th St., serves Ottumwa’s 28,910 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ottumwa Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ottumwa’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 2.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ottumwa’s civic life grade?
C+ Ottumwa is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #120 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 Ottumwa.
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.