Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 4.0Oskaloosa’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Oskaloosa Public Library serves 2,160 people in and around Oskaloosa. Last year it lent 9,546 books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
Oskaloosa’s library, in brief
Kansas pays a big share
39% of the budget comes from the state, and 59% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
People come to Oskaloosa Public Library a lot
Oskaloosa Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 3.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Oskaloosa Public Library serves more than Oskaloosa
The library’s service area covers 2,160 people in and around Oskaloosa, 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 Oskaloosa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oskaloosa is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Oskaloosa 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Oskaloosa
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.3%
10.3% of Oskaloosa’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Kansas 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 Oskaloosa’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Oskaloosa Public Library serves 2,160 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,546 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
1,042 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Oskaloosa Public Library, 315 Jefferson St., Oskaloosa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oskaloosa? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.98 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oskaloosa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $91K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $180K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $91K 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 1,301 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 Oskaloosa
Does Oskaloosa have a public library?
Yes. Oskaloosa Public Library, 315 Jefferson St., serves 2,160 people in and around Oskaloosa (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oskaloosa Public 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 Oskaloosa’s library?
It logged 10.0 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Oskaloosa’s civic life grade?
A Oskaloosa is ahead of 87% 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 Oskaloosa.
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.