Blue Mound’s library runs 21 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Linn County Library Dist #3 serves 438 people in and around Blue Mound. Last year it lent 1,058 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,560 visits.
The short version on Blue Mound’s library
A small-town library
Linn County Library Dist #3 serves 438 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 33 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 ↓
Linn County Library Dist #3 serves more than Blue Mound
The library’s service area covers 438 people in and around Blue Mound, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Blue Mound’s civic life grade
Blue Mound 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? 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 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.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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
Does Blue Mound have a public library?
Yes. Linn County Library Dist #3, 316 E. Main St., serves 438 people in and around Blue Mound (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’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’s civic life grade?
Blue Mound 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.
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.