Villisca National Guard Armory · Photo: Vac4rcm2 · CC BY-SA 4.0Villisca’s library runs 94 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Villisca Public Library serves Villisca’s 1,363 residents. Last year it lent 3,170 print books and media and logged 6,497 visits.
Villisca’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
2,005 cards for 1,363 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
84% of the 128 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 41 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Villisca Public Library serves 1,363 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 29 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 ↓
Programs draw a crowd
4,347 people came to the library’s 128 programs last year: 3.2 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Villisca’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Villisca is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Villisca is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Villisca near the top nationally; Villisca’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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Villisca
17.2 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.7%
14.7% of Villisca’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 Villisca’s residents live; 2022.
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 Villisca last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Villisca Public Library serves 1,363 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,170 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Villisca Public Library, 204 S 3rd Ave, Villisca.
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 $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Villisca cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $49K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $94K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $49K 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 2,005 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 Villisca
Does Villisca have a public library?
Yes. Villisca Public Library, 204 S 3rd Ave, serves Villisca’s 1,363 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Villisca Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Villisca’s library?
It logged 4.8 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Villisca’s civic life grade?
A+ Villisca is among the top 1% 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 Villisca.
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.