Clay County Courthouse · Photo: Scott Romine · CC BY-SA 4.0Spencer’s library runs 36 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Spencer Public Library serves Spencer’s 13,236 residents. Last year it lent 58K print books and media and logged 49K visits.
What stands out about Spencer’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Spencer’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Spencer is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #53 of 138 in Iowa. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Spencer’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
86 community nonprofits are registered in Spencer
7.5 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Spencer’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 Spencer’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Spencer Public Library serves 13,236 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
58K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
About 4 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 Spencer last year.
Find it
Spencer Public Library, 21 E 3rd St., Spencer.
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 $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Spencer cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $955K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $955K 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 5,165 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 Spencer
Does Spencer have a public library?
Yes. Spencer Public Library, 21 E 3rd St., serves Spencer’s 13,236 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spencer Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Spencer’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 4.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Spencer’s civic life grade?
A− Spencer is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 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 Spencer.
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.