Photo: Billwhittaker · CC BY-SA 3.0West Liberty’s library runs 87 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
West Liberty Public Library serves West Liberty’s 5,485 residents. Last year it lent 10K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
What West Liberty’s library is like
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people West Liberty Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 62% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
West Liberty Public Library holds 20,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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.
What’s behind West Liberty’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Liberty is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #99 of 138 in Iowa. West Liberty is graded on two of the three inputs. West Liberty’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in West Liberty
9.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.4%
5.4% of West Liberty’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 West Liberty’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Liberty last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
West Liberty Public Library serves 5,485 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
10K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 20K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Find it
West Liberty Public Library, 400 N Spencer, West Liberty.
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 West Liberty cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $426K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $205K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $426K 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 1,000 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 West Liberty
Does West Liberty have a public library?
Yes. West Liberty Public Library, 400 N Spencer, serves West Liberty’s 5,485 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Liberty Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is West Liberty’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is West Liberty’s civic life grade?
B West Liberty is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #99 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 Liberty.
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.