George H. Haven House · Photo: Jonathunder · CC BY-SA 3.0Chatfield’s library runs 5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Chatfield Public Library serves 9,345 people in and around Chatfield. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Chatfield’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Chatfield Public Library offered 47 programs last year, 5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Chatfield Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 8,100 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 62% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Chatfield Public Library serves 9,345 people in and around Chatfield, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Chatfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chatfield is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #23 of 271 in Minnesota. Chatfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Chatfield’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Chatfield
12.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Chatfield’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical Minnesota town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Chatfield’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Chatfield Public Library, 314 S Main Street, Chatfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Chatfield Public Library branch.
New in Chatfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Chatfield Public Library
Chatfield Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 27, 1982. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Prairie School. It was listed as part of Fillmore County MRA.
The Chatfield Public Library is a public library in Chatfield, Minnesota. It is a member of Southeastern Libraries Cooperating, the SE Minnesota library region. The building, a Prairie School structure, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Chatfield Public Library serves 9,345 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Chatfield Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,104 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
47 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chatfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $305K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $546K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $305K 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 1,959 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatfield | Chatfield Public Library fine-free | — | 39 | A |
| Chatfield Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Elmira Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Orion 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.
- System-wide. Chatfield Public Library serves 9,345 people in and around Chatfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Chatfield.
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 Chatfield
Does Chatfield have a public library?
Yes. Chatfield Public Library, 314 S Main Street, serves 9,345 people in and around Chatfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chatfield Public 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 Chatfield’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chatfield’s civic life grade?
A Chatfield is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #23 of 271 in Minnesota. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Chatfield.
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.