Tiffin’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Springmier Community Library serves Tiffin’s 4,540 residents. Last year it lent 4,536 print books and media and logged 13K visits.
Tiffin’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 77% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 74% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people Springmier Community Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Springmier Community Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 90% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Springmier Community Library spends $10 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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 Tiffin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Tiffin is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #93 of 138 in Iowa. Tiffin is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Tiffin’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Tiffin
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
9.2%
9.2% of Tiffin’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 Tiffin’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Springmier Community Library serves 4,540 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,536 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Tiffin last year.
Find it
Springmier Community Library, 311 W Marengo Rd, Tiffin.
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 $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tiffin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $95K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 785 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coralville | Coralville Public Library fine-free | 8.7 | 54 | A− |
| Tiffin | Springmier Community Library fine-free | 1.0 | 38 | B |
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 Tiffin
Does Tiffin have a public library?
Yes. Springmier Community Library, 311 W Marengo Rd, serves Tiffin’s 4,540 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Springmier Community Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Tiffin’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 1.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Tiffin’s civic life grade?
B Tiffin is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #93 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 Tiffin.
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.