Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0Shell Rock’s library lends 4.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Benny Gambaiani Public Library serves Shell Rock’s 1,518 residents. Last year it lent 7,381 print books and media and logged 4,933 visits.
What stands out about Shell Rock’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Shell Rock’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shell Rock is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Shell Rock’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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Shell Rock
3.1 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.4%
13.4% of Shell Rock’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 Shell Rock’s residents live; 2022.
35 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 Shell Rock last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Benny Gambaiani Public Library serves 1,518 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
7,381 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Find it
Benny Gambaiani Public Library, 104 S Cherry St., Shell Rock.
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 $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shell Rock cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $101K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $148K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $101K 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 767 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 Shell Rock
Does Shell Rock have a public library?
Yes. Benny Gambaiani Public Library, 104 S Cherry St., serves Shell Rock’s 1,518 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Benny Gambaiani Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Shell Rock’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Shell Rock’s civic life grade?
B Shell Rock is ahead of 64% 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 Shell Rock.
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.