Lu Verne City Jail · Photo: Brandonrush · Public domainLu Verne’s library lends 30 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Luverne Public Library serves Lu Verne’s 321 residents. Last year it lent 9,641 print books and media and logged 5,236 visits.
What Lu Verne’s library is like
Lu Verne uses its library more than almost any town its size
Luverne Public Library logs 16 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 30 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
57% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 41%. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 30% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Luverne Public Library serves 321 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 ↓
Lu Verne invests in its library
Luverne Public Library spends $261 per resident a year, about five times the typical $54 for a library its size. 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 Lu Verne’s civic life grade
Lu Verne 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 →
Books and media off the shelf
9,641 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,852 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Luverne Public Library serves 321 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
45 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
Luverne Public Library, 113 Dewitt St., Luverne.
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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lu Verne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $84K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $157K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $84K budget.
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 126 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Lu Verne’s 5,236 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- 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 Lu Verne
Does Lu Verne have a public library?
Yes. Luverne Public Library, 113 Dewitt St., serves Lu Verne’s 321 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
How busy is Lu Verne’s library?
It logged 16.3 visits and lent 30.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lu Verne’s civic life grade?
Lu Verne 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 Lu Verne.
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.