Photo: Iowahwyman · CC BY-SA 3.0West Des Moines’ library lends 6.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
West Des Moines Public Library serves West Des Moines’s 69,235 residents. Last year it lent 420K print books and media and logged 193K visits.
What West Des Moines’s library is like
Above typical on nearly every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, West Des Moines Public Library is above the middle on five of the six per-resident measures we compare, and close to it on the other, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
West Des Moines Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
West Des Moines Public Library is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 127 items go out. The building ↓
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 West Des Moines’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, West Des Moines is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #102 of 138 in Iowa. West Des Moines’ count of community nonprofits 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 →
321 community nonprofits are registered in West Des Moines
4.5 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 (57 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.6%
8.6% of West Des Moines’ 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 West Des Moines’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
West Des Moines Public Library serves 69,235 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 127 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
420K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 206K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
About 8 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 West Des Moines last year.
Find it
West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 George M. Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines.
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 $1.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Des Moines cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.2M 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 37,970 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
West Des Moines ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clive | Clive Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 69 | C+ |
| Waukee | Waukee Public Library fine-free | 7.3 | 57 | B− |
| West Des Moines | West Des Moines Public Library | 6.1 | 64 | B |
| Norwalk | Norwalk Easter Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 51 | B |
| Des Moines | Des Moines Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 62 | B+ |
| Cumming | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Windsor Heights | None of its own | — | — | A− |
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 West Des Moines
Does West Des Moines have a public library?
Yes. West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 George M. Mills Civic Parkway, serves West Des Moines’ 69,235 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Des Moines Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is West Des Moines’ library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 6.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is West Des Moines’ civic life grade?
B West Des Moines is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life, #102 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 West Des Moines.
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.