Photo: Pleasnthillparks · CC BY-SA 4.0Pleasant Hill’s library runs 46 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Pleasant Hill Public Library serves Pleasant Hill’s 11,406 residents. Last year it lent 63K print books and media and logged 45K visits.
The short version on Pleasant Hill’s library
Programs draw a crowd
21,000 people came to the library’s 526 programs last year: 1.8 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 526 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.2 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Pleasant Hill’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Pleasant Hill is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #116 of 138 in Iowa. Library visits hold the grade up; Pleasant Hill’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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Pleasant Hill
3.0 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Pleasant Hill’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 Pleasant Hill’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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 Pleasant Hill 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.
Pleasant Hill Public Library serves 11,406 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
63K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
Find it
Pleasant Hill Public Library, 5151 Maple Dr, Pleasant Hill.
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 $1.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pleasant Hill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $738K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $738K 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 6,973 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Pleasant Hill ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altoona | Altoona Public Library fine-free | 6.2 | 67 | B− |
| Pleasant Hill | Pleasant Hill Public Library fine-free | 5.5 | 57 | 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 Pleasant Hill
Does Pleasant Hill have a public library?
Yes. Pleasant Hill Public Library, 5151 Maple Dr, serves Pleasant Hill’s 11,406 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pleasant Hill Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Pleasant Hill’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 5.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Pleasant Hill’s civic life grade?
B− Pleasant Hill is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #116 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 Pleasant Hill.
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.