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Walnut IowaPhoto: Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Walnut Public Library

Walnut’s library runs 85 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size

Walnut Public Library serves Walnut’s 1,194 residents. Last year it lent 3,658 print books and media and logged 4,200 visits.

224 Antique City Dr, Walnut 51577 · about 23 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
3,658
3.1 per resident
Visits a year
4,200
3.5 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Programs & events
101
about 2 a week · 1,341 attended
Cardholders
31%
368 cards
Open
23 hrs
a week

What stands out about Walnut’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Walnut’s civic life grade

Walnut isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Walnut’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 3.5 visits · typical 3.5Higher than 50%
Borrowing per resident 3.1 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.4Higher than 53%
Program attendance 1.1 attendees · typical 0.7Higher than 67%
Programs offered 84.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Higher than 63%
Cardholders 31% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 76%
Spending $34 per resident · typical $54Lower than 75%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Walnut Public Library serves 1,194 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

4,200
visits
3.5 per resident
3,658
loans, print + digital
3.1 per resident
101
programs & events
1,341 attended
368
library cards
31% of people served
Every open hour3items borrowed
Every week26people at a program
Every day1Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers12K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

3,658 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

3,658loans
Books & media (adults) 52%Kids’ books & media 48%
How hard the shelves work
0.3×

Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.

Kids & programs

101 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Walnut →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–533
Ages 6–1111
Teens5
Adults43
All ages9
Little ones
0.6

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
10

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Walnut last year.

1,341
people at programs
101
programs
The building

Find it

Walnut Public Library, 224 Antique City Dr, Walnut.

23
hours open a week
2,072
square feet
12K
books & media
With a card

No late fees.

New in Walnut? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.67 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Walnut cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$34 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $41K.

Local taxes 83%State 4%Gifts & other 13%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $68K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $41K 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 368 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Visits are a typical-week estimate. Walnut Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
  • 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 Walnut

Does Walnut have a public library?

Yes. Walnut Public Library, 224 Antique City Dr, serves Walnut’s 1,194 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Walnut Public Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Walnut’s library?

It logged 3.5 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Walnut’s civic life grade?

Walnut isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Walnut.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.