Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0Waterloo’s library runs 6.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Waterloo Public Library serves Waterloo’s 68,052 residents. Last year it lent 202K print books and media and logged 137K visits.
What stands out about Waterloo’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Waterloo’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Waterloo is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #131 of 138 in Iowa. Waterloo’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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 →
265 community nonprofits are registered in Waterloo
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (73 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Waterloo’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 Waterloo’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Waterloo Public Library serves 68,052 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 63 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
202K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 98K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
About 5 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 Waterloo last year.
Find it
Waterloo Public Library, 415 Commercial St., Waterloo.
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 $1.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Waterloo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.8M 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 42,416 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Waterloo ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Falls | Cedar Falls Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 60 | B+ |
| Waterloo | Waterloo Public Library fine-free | 3.0 | 62 | C |
| Evansdale | Evansdale Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 41 | C |
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 Waterloo
Does Waterloo have a public library?
Yes. Waterloo Public Library, 415 Commercial St., serves Waterloo’s 68,052 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Waterloo Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Waterloo’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Waterloo’s civic life grade?
C Waterloo is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #131 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 Waterloo.
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.