Sanborn’s library lends 6.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Sanborn Public Library serves Sanborn’s 2,603 residents. Last year it lent 17K print books and media and logged 9,194 visits.
What Sanborn’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 66% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Sanborn last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
76% of the 114 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 24 were for children. 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 Sanborn’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sanborn is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Sanborn is graded on two of the three inputs. Sanborn’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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Sanborn
6.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
5.1%
5.1% of Sanborn’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 Sanborn’s residents live; 2022.
114 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 Sanborn last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sanborn Public Library serves 2,603 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
17K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Find it
Sanborn Public Library, 407 Main St., Sanborn.
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 $2.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sanborn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $85K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $248K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $85K 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 558 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 Sanborn
Does Sanborn have a public library?
Yes. Sanborn Public Library, 407 Main St., serves Sanborn’s 2,603 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sanborn Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sanborn’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 6.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sanborn’s civic life grade?
B− Sanborn is ahead of 50% 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 Sanborn.
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.