Blue Mound Township’s library runs 21 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Linn County Library Dist #3 serves Blue Mound Township’s 438 residents. Last year it lent 1,058 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,560 visits.
What’s behind Blue Mound Township’s civic life grade
Blue Mound Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Linn County Library Dist #3 serves 438 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Linn County Library Dist #3
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,058 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,649 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
20 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
9 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Linn County Library Dist #3, 316 E. Main St., Blue Mound.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Blue Mound Township? 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 Blue Mound Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $44K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $44K 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 265 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Blue Mound Township ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mound City Township | Mound City/Linn County Dist. #4 fine-free | 7.3 | 42 | A |
| Rich Township | Kincaid Community Library fine-free | 4.9 | 15 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Blue Mound Township | Linn County Library Dist #3 | 2.4 | 33 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Franklin Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Centerville Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Stanton Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Linn County Library Dist #3 counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Blue Mound Township
Does Blue Mound Township have a public library?
Yes. Linn County Library Dist #3, 316 E. Main St., serves Blue Mound Township’s 438 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Linn County Library Dist #3 fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Blue Mound Township’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Blue Mound Township’s civic life grade?
Blue Mound Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Blue Mound Township.
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.