Photo: Jerry Huddleston from Hampton, Minnesota, US · CC BY 2.0Stuart’s library runs 278 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Stuart Public Library serves Stuart’s 2,079 residents. Last year it lent 8,614 print books and media and logged 16K visits.
The short version on Stuart’s library
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Stuart Public Library ran 577 programs last year, about 11 a week. That’s 278 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 5,842 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Stuart Public Library serves 2,079 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 44 hours a week. 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 ↓
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.
What’s behind Stuart’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Stuart is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. Stuart is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Stuart’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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Stuart
15.1 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Stuart’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 Stuart’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Stuart last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Stuart Public Library serves 2,079 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
8,614 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
Find it
Stuart Public Library, 111 E Front St., Stuart.
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 $1.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stuart cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $111K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $202K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $111K 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 1,088 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 Stuart
Does Stuart have a public library?
Yes. Stuart Public Library, 111 E Front St., serves Stuart’s 2,079 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stuart Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Stuart’s library?
It logged 7.8 visits and lent 4.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Stuart’s civic life grade?
A+ Stuart is ahead of 95% 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 Stuart.
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.