Photo: User:Visviva · CC BY-SA 4.0Cerro Gordo’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Hope Welty Public Library District serves 2,955 people in and around Cerro Gordo. Last year it lent 3,926 print books and media and logged 4,559 visits.
What’s behind Cerro Gordo’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cerro Gordo is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Cerro Gordo is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Cerro Gordo
5.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.2%
13.2% of Cerro Gordo’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois 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 Cerro Gordo’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hope Welty Public Library District serves 2,955 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hope Welty Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,926 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Cerro Gordo’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
111 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Hope Welty Public Library District, 100 South Madison Street, Cerro Gordo.
Good at every Hope Welty Public Library District branch.
New in Cerro Gordo? The Handbook →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 Cerro Gordo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $99K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $78K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $99K 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 381 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Hope Welty Public Library District serves 2,955 people in and around Cerro Gordo, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cerro Gordo.
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 Cerro Gordo
Does Cerro Gordo have a public library?
Yes. Hope Welty Public Library District, 100 South Madison Street, serves 2,955 people in and around Cerro Gordo (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hope Welty Public Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Cerro Gordo’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Cerro Gordo’s civic life grade?
A Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo.
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.