Grinnell’s library runs 309 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Moore Family Library serves Grinnell’s 256 residents. Last year it lent 257 books, movies and e-books and logged 416 visits.
What Grinnell’s library is like
Open only about 6 hours a week
Moore Family Library keeps short hours: about 6 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Moore Family Library is used less than most libraries its size
Moore Family Library records 1.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Moore Family Library ran 79 programs last year, about 2 a week. That’s 309 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 629 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
46% of the budget comes from the state, and 42% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Moore Family Library serves 256 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
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 Grinnell’s civic life grade
Grinnell 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 →
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Moore Family Library serves 256 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Moore Family Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
257 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 2,774 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Moore Family Library, 95 S. Adams, Grinnell.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Grinnell? 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 Grinnell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $12K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $10K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12K 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 77 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 Grinnell
Does Grinnell have a public library?
Yes. Moore Family Library, 95 S. Adams, serves Grinnell’s 256 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 6 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Moore Family Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Grinnell’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Grinnell’s civic life grade?
Grinnell 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 Grinnell.
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.