Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0Van Meter’s library runs 105 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Van Meter Public Library serves Van Meter’s 1,952 residents. Last year it lent 7,814 print books and media and logged 5,257 visits.
What Van Meter’s library is like
A small-town library
Van Meter Public Library serves 1,952 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 42 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 ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 78% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 78% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Van Meter’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Van Meter is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Van Meter
5.1 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.0%
10.0% of Van Meter’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 Van Meter’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Van Meter Public Library serves 1,952 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.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,814 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,872 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
About 2 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 Van Meter last year.
Find it
Van Meter Public Library, 505 Grant, Van Meter.
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 Van Meter cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $149K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $139K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $149K 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 650 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waukee | Waukee Public Library fine-free | 7.3 | 57 | B− |
| Van Meter | Van Meter Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 42 | 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 Van Meter
Does Van Meter have a public library?
Yes. Van Meter Public Library, 505 Grant, serves Van Meter’s 1,952 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Van Meter Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Van Meter’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Van Meter’s civic life grade?
B+ Van Meter is ahead of 69% 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 Van Meter.
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.