Photo: Myotus · CC BY-SA 4.0Cass Lake’s library is a branch of Kitchigami Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 64% of systems its size
Cass Lake’s library is the Cass Lake Community Library, a branch of Kitchigami Regional Library, which serves 180,765 people and lent 552K items last year.
Cass Lake’s library, in brief
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Cass Lake branch keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Minnesota pays a big share
33% of the budget comes from the state, and 62% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Cass Lake’s library is a branch of Kitchigami Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (180,765 people), not just the Cass Lake branch.
What’s behind Cass Lake’s civic life grade
Cass Lake 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 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Kitchigami Regional Library serves 180,765 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kitchigami Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
552K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Cass Lake’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
102,556 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
754 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Cass Lake Community Library, 223 Cedar, Cass Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Kitchigami Regional Library branch.
New in Cass Lake? 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 $2.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cass Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.9M 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 86,563 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Cass Lake Community Library is one branch of Kitchigami Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 180,765 people it serves.
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 Cass Lake
Does Cass Lake have a public library?
Yes: Cass Lake Community Library, 223 Cedar, is a branch of Kitchigami Regional Library, which serves 180,765 people. The branch is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kitchigami Regional 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 Cass Lake’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Cass Lake’s civic life grade?
Cass Lake 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 Cass Lake.
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.