Photo: Clerk8751 · CC BY 4.0Helena Township’s library runs 269 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Alden District Library serves 1,225 people in and around Helena Township. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Helena Township’s library
More library cards than residents
2,238 cards for 1,225 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Alden District Library ran 330 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 269 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,292 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Alden District 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 7.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 330 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 20 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Alden District Library spends $138 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. 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; Alden District Library serves 1,225 people in and around Helena Township, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Helena Township’s civic life grade
Helena Township 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 →
330 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Alden District Library serves 1,225 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alden District Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,946 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Alden District Library, 8751 Helena Road, Alden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Alden District Library branch.
New in Helena Township? 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 $1.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Helena Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $169K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $232K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $169K 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 2,238 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena Township | Alden District Library fine-free | — | 43 | — graded with its twin city |
| Forest Home Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Milton Township | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Custer Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Clearwater Township | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Rapid City | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Alden District Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Alden District Library serves 1,225 people in and around Helena Township, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Helena Township.
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 Helena Township
Does Helena Township have a public library?
Yes. Alden District Library, 8751 Helena Road, serves 1,225 people in and around Helena Township (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alden District 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 Helena Township’s library?
It logged 10.1 visits and lent 9.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Helena Township’s civic life grade?
Helena Township 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 Helena Township.
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.