Lakota’s library lends 5.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Lakota Public Library serves Lakota’s 544 residents. Last year it lent 3,050 print books and media and logged 1,873 visits.
The short version on Lakota’s library
A small-town library
Lakota Public Library serves 544 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Lakota Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lakota Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 9.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
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 Lakota’s civic life grade
Lakota 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lakota Public Library serves 544 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,050 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 6,088 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
5 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.
Find it
Lakota Public Library, 204 3rd St., Lakota.
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 $1.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lakota cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $31K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $49K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $31K 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 154 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Lakota
Does Lakota have a public library?
Yes. Lakota Public Library, 204 3rd St., serves Lakota’s 544 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lakota Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lakota’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 5.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lakota’s civic life grade?
Lakota 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 Lakota.
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.