Photo: Scott A. Miller · CC BY-SA 3.0Storm Lake’s library logs 5.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Storm Lake Public Library serves Storm Lake’s 12,221 residents. Last year it lent 17K print books and media and logged 65K visits.
Storm Lake’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 80% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 15%. The building also logs about 25 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Programs lean toward adults
55% of the 158 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 40 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Storm Lake Public Library holds 43,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Storm Lake’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Storm Lake is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #117 of 138 in Iowa. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Storm Lake
4.0 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.8%
4.8% of Storm Lake’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 Storm Lake’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Storm Lake Public Library serves 12,221 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
17K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
158 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 Storm Lake last year.
Find it
Storm Lake Public Library, 609 Cayuga St., Storm Lake.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Storm Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $352K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $346K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $352K 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 7,168 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Lake | Storm Lake Public Library | 1.4 | 48 | B− |
| Lakeside | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Storm Lake
Does Storm Lake have a public library?
Yes. Storm Lake Public Library, 609 Cayuga St., serves Storm Lake’s 12,221 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Storm Lake Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Storm Lake’s library?
It logged 5.3 visits and lent 1.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Storm Lake’s civic life grade?
B− Storm Lake is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on civic life, #117 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 Storm Lake.
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.