Photo: Dmetz61753 · CC BY-SA 3.0Pella’s library lends 9.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Pella Public Library serves Pella’s 17,378 residents. Last year it lent 158K print books and media and logged 98K visits.
Pella’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 40 items per child in Pella last year. Kids & programs ↓
Pella is a town of borrowers
Pella Public Library lends 9.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Pella’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pella is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #102 of 138 in Iowa. Pella is graded on two of the three inputs. Pella’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 →
103 community nonprofits are registered in Pella
9.6 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 (30 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.
5.1%
5.1% of Pella’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 Pella’s residents live; 2022.
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 Pella 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.
Pella Public Library serves 17,378 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
158K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 82K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
Find it
Pella Public Library, 603 Main St., Pella.
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 $2.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pella cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $841K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $841K 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 10,362 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 Pella
Does Pella have a public library?
Yes. Pella Public Library, 603 Main St., serves Pella’s 17,378 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pella Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Pella’s library?
It logged 5.6 visits and lent 9.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Pella’s civic life grade?
B Pella is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life, #102 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 Pella.
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.