Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainIndianola’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Indianola Public Library serves Indianola’s 518 residents. Last year it lent 1,336 books, movies and e-books and logged 888 visits.
What Indianola’s library is like
Indianola Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Indianola Public Library records 1.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
Indianola Public Library keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Indianola Public Library serves 518 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 ↓
Most of Indianola’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 50% of loans. Print still makes up 50%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 74%. What your card is worth ↓
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 Indianola’s civic life grade
Indianola 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 →
50% of borrowing is digital
1,336 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,626 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
671 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Indianola Public Library serves 518 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
22 programs a year
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Indianola last year.
Find it
Indianola Public Library, 122 North 4th Street, Indianola.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Indianola? 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 Indianola cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $22K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K 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 294 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 Indianola
Does Indianola have a public library?
Yes. Indianola Public Library, 122 North 4th Street, serves Indianola’s 518 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Indianola 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 Indianola’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Indianola’s civic life grade?
Indianola 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 Indianola.
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.