Photo: en:User:Cburnett · CC BY-SA 3.0Winterset’s library runs 72 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Winterset Public Library serves Winterset’s 12,665 residents. Last year it lent 62K print books and media and logged 63K visits.
Winterset’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Winterset Public Library ran 918 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 72 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
56% of the 918 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 248 were for children. 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 Winterset’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Winterset is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #6 of 138 in Iowa. Winterset is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Winterset’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
85 community nonprofits are registered in Winterset
15.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.5%
11.5% of Winterset’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 Winterset’s residents live; 2022.
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 Winterset last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Winterset Public Library serves 12,665 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
62K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Winterset Public Library, 123 N 2nd St., Winterset.
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 $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Winterset cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $467K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $467K 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 7,866 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 Winterset
Does Winterset have a public library?
Yes. Winterset Public Library, 123 N 2nd St., serves Winterset’s 12,665 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Winterset Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Winterset’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Winterset’s civic life grade?
A+ Winterset is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 Winterset.
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.