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Steamboat Rock, IowaPhoto: Carl Wycoff · CC BY 2.0
Steamboat Rock Public Library

Steamboat Rock’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Steamboat Rock Public Library serves Steamboat Rock’s 345 residents. Last year it lent 1,326 print books and media and logged 4,182 visits.

511 Market St., Steamboat Rock 50672 · about 20 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
1,326
3.8 per resident
Visits a year
4,182
12.1 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
52
about 1 a week · 780 attended
Cardholders
45%
156 cards
Open
20 hrs
a week
In brief

The short version on Steamboat Rock’s library

A small-town library

Steamboat Rock Public Library serves 345 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓

People come to Steamboat Rock Public Library a lot

Steamboat Rock Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 3.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓

Open only about 20 hours a week

Steamboat Rock Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

A place to get online

Steamboat Rock Public Library logs about 11 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 12 public computers. That’s 12 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓

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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Steamboat Rock’s civic life grade

Steamboat Rock isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Steamboat Rock’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

4,182
visits
12.1 per resident
1,326
loans, print + digital
3.8 per resident
52
programs & events
780 attended
156
library cards
45% of people served
Every open hour1items borrowed
Every week15people at a program
Every day11Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers4,810 books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 12.1 visits · typical 3.5Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 3.8 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 50%
Kids’ borrowing 0.8 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 65%
Program attendance 2.3 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 87%
Programs offered 150.7 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 82%
Cardholders 45% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 60%
Spending $81 per resident · typical $54Higher than 74%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Steamboat Rock Public Library serves 345 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

1,326 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

1,326loans
Books & media (adults) 78%Kids’ books & media 22%
How hard the shelves work
0.3×

Each of the 4,810 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

52 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Steamboat Rock →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–512
Ages 6–1118
Teens0
Adults20
All ages2
Little ones
0.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

291
kids’ books & media borrowed
780
people at programs
52
programs
The building

Find it

Steamboat Rock Public Library, 511 Market St., Steamboat Rock.

20
hours open a week
1,240
square feet
4,810
books & media
With a card

Ask at the desk about getting a card.

New in Steamboat Rock? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.46 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Steamboat Rock cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
2
Your card saves you about
$276
a year at retail prices · $23 a month

Who pays for it
$81 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $28K.

Local taxes 91%State 3%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $41K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K budget.

Late fines apply to some overdue items.

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 156 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Steamboat Rock

Does Steamboat Rock have a public library?

Yes. Steamboat Rock Public Library, 511 Market St., serves Steamboat Rock’s 345 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Steamboat Rock Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Steamboat Rock’s library?

It logged 12.1 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Steamboat Rock’s civic life grade?

Steamboat Rock isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Steamboat Rock.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.