Photo: Edkohler (Uploads) · Public domainBuhl’s library lends 3.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Buhl Public Library serves Buhl’s 964 residents. Last year it lent 3,929 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,506 visits.
The short version on Buhl’s library
A small-town library
Buhl Public Library serves 964 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 34 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 ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Buhl Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Today’s library there has 3,650 square feet. The building ↓
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 Buhl’s civic life grade
Buhl 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 →
A National Register landmark since 1983
Buhl Public Library, 400 Jones Avenue, Buhl.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Buhl? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Buhl Public Library
Buhl Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Feb 10, 1983. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level.
Buhl Public Library is the public library serving Buhl, Minnesota, United States. Its building was constructed from 1917 to 1918 with local tax revenue from a mining boom. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and education.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Buhl Public Library serves 964 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,929 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
816 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
49 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Buhl last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Buhl cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $69K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $68K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $69K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 270 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buhl | Buhl Public Library | 4.1 | 34 | — graded with its twin city |
| Great Scott Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- 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 Buhl
Does Buhl have a public library?
Yes. Buhl Public Library, 400 Jones Avenue, serves Buhl’s 964 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Buhl Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Buhl’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Buhl’s civic life grade?
Buhl 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 Buhl.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.