Carnegie Library · Photo: John Licinius Everett Peck, Otto Hillock Montzheimer, William J. Miller · Public domainSheldon’s library lends 4.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Sheldon Public Library serves Sheldon’s 6,337 residents. Last year it lent 30K print books and media and logged 14K visits.
What Sheldon’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977. Today’s library there has 12,000 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 59% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 74% 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 Sheldon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sheldon is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #124 of 138 in Iowa. Sheldon’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Sheldon
5.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (9 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.
5.1%
5.1% of Sheldon’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 Sheldon’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1977
Sheldon Public Library, 925 4th Ave, Sheldon.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Library
Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 11, 1977. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts.
The Carnegie Library in Sheldon, Iowa is a building from 1908. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 1969, the library was moved and 7 years later the building became the Sheldon Prairie Museum.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sheldon Public Library serves 6,337 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
30K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 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 Sheldon last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sheldon cardholder borrows.
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 2,361 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Sheldon
Does Sheldon have a public library?
Yes. Sheldon Public Library, 925 4th Ave, serves Sheldon’s 6,337 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sheldon Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sheldon’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 4.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sheldon’s civic life grade?
C+ Sheldon is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #124 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 Sheldon.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.