Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Sergeant Bluff’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library serves Sergeant Bluff’s 5,015 residents. Last year it lent 4,899 print books and media and logged 7,787 visits.
The short version on Sergeant Bluff’s library
Runs on less money than most
Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library spends $16 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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 Sergeant Bluff’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sergeant Bluff is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #122 of 138 in Iowa. Sergeant Bluff’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($93K–$154K) 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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Sergeant Bluff
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of Sergeant Bluff’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 Sergeant Bluff’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library serves 5,015 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,899 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,712 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
About 2 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 Sergeant Bluff last year.
Find it
Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library, 503 4th St., Sergeant Bluff.
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 $1.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sergeant Bluff cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $79K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $119K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $79K 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 1,936 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux City | Sioux City Public Library | 2.3 | 58 | C− |
| Sergeant Bluff | Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library fine-free | 1.0 | 47 | C+ |
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 Sergeant Bluff
Does Sergeant Bluff have a public library?
Yes. Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library, 503 4th St., serves Sergeant Bluff’s 5,015 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sergeant Bluff Public/School Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sergeant Bluff’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sergeant Bluff’s civic life grade?
C+ Sergeant Bluff is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #122 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 Sergeant Bluff.
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.