Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Woodbine’s library runs 114 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Woodbine Carnegie Public Library serves Woodbine’s 2,082 residents. Last year it lent 4,836 print books and media and logged 7,385 visits.
Woodbine’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Woodbine Carnegie Public Library serves 2,082 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 35 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Woodbine Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1997. Today’s library there has 5,230 square feet. The building ↓
Federal money pays a real share
22% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 69% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 237 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 45 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Woodbine’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Woodbine is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Woodbine is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Woodbine’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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Woodbine
13.6 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.
8.9%
8.9% of Woodbine’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 Woodbine’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1997
Woodbine Carnegie Public Library, 58 5th St., Woodbine.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Woodbine Public Library
Woodbine Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1997. It is significant for its architecture, education and town planning at the local level. Its architecture is described as Prairie School.
Woodbine Public Library, also known as Carnegie Public Library, is located in Woodbine, Iowa, United States. The library was organized in 1907, and it was initially housed in the jail section of city hall. If there was inmate in the jail the public had no access to the library. The city council appointed a board of trustees in 1908 and they applied to the Andrew Carnegie for a grant to build a library building.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Woodbine Carnegie Public Library serves 2,082 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,836 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
237 programs a year
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 Woodbine last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Woodbine cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $100K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $94K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $100K 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 922 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 Woodbine
Does Woodbine have a public library?
Yes. Woodbine Carnegie Public Library, 58 5th St., serves Woodbine’s 2,082 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Woodbine Carnegie Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Woodbine’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Woodbine’s civic life grade?
A Woodbine is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Woodbine.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.