Pleasantville’s library runs 49 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Webb Shadle Public Library serves Pleasantville’s 2,590 residents. Last year it lent 11K print books and media and logged 9,665 visits.
What stands out about Pleasantville’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Pleasantville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pleasantville is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Pleasantville is graded on two of the three inputs. Pleasantville’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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Pleasantville
11.6 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 (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.
7.3%
7.3% of Pleasantville’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 Pleasantville’s residents live; 2022.
126 programs a year
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 Pleasantville last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Webb Shadle Public Library serves 2,590 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Find it
Webb Shadle Public Library, 301 W Dallas, Pleasantville.
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 $2.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pleasantville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $79K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $197K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $79K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,229 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 Pleasantville
Does Pleasantville have a public library?
Yes. Webb Shadle Public Library, 301 W Dallas, serves Pleasantville’s 2,590 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Webb Shadle Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Pleasantville’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 4.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Pleasantville’s civic life grade?
A− Pleasantville is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Pleasantville.
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.