Photo: Mostly Iowa Edits · CC BY-SA 4.0Williamsburg’s library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Williamsburg Public Library serves Williamsburg’s 4,771 residents. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 37K visits.
The short version on Williamsburg’s library
More library cards than residents
5,572 cards for 4,771 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
People come to Williamsburg Public Library a lot
Williamsburg Public Library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
8,294 people came to the library’s 331 programs last year: 1.7 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 93% 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.
What’s behind Williamsburg’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Williamsburg is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #92 of 138 in Iowa. Williamsburg is graded on two of the three inputs. Williamsburg’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 →
27 community nonprofits are registered in Williamsburg
8.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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.
6.2%
6.2% of Williamsburg’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 Williamsburg’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Williamsburg last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Williamsburg Public Library serves 4,771 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
26K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Find it
Williamsburg Public Library, 300 W State St., Williamsburg.
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 Williamsburg cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $245K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $475K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $245K 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 5,572 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 Williamsburg
Does Williamsburg have a public library?
Yes. Williamsburg Public Library, 300 W State St., serves Williamsburg’s 4,771 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Williamsburg Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Williamsburg’s library?
It logged 7.8 visits and lent 5.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Williamsburg’s civic life grade?
B+ Williamsburg is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #92 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 Williamsburg.
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.