Photo: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Tama’s library runs 1.6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Louise & Lucile Hink/Tama Public Library serves Tama’s 3,130 residents. Last year it lent 10K print books and media and logged 5,953 visits.
What Tama’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Louise & Lucile Hink/Tama Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 1.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Louise & Lucile Hink/Tama Public Library holds 26,000 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 Tama’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tama is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Tama’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$86K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Tama
3.0 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.7%
3.7% of Tama’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 Tama’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Louise & Lucile Hink/Tama Public Library serves 3,130 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
10K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
5 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Louise & Lucile Hink/Tama Public Library, 401 Siegel St., Tama.
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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tama cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $186K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $192K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $186K 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 2,425 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 Tama
Does Tama have a public library?
Yes. Louise & Lucile Hink/Tama Public Library, 401 Siegel St., serves Tama’s 3,130 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Louise & Lucile Hink/Tama Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Tama’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Tama’s civic life grade?
D Tama is ahead of 11% 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 Tama.
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.