Moody Barn · Photo: Elkman · CC BY-SA 3.0Chisago Lake Township has no public library of its own; the nearest is Chisago Lakes Area Library in Chisago City, 4.6 miles away
Chisago Lake Township doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Chisago Lakes Area Library in Chisago City, 4.6 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
B−Civic lifeAhead of 47% of U.S. towns · #151 of 271 in Minnesota. Nonprofits and volunteering.Libraries for Chisago Lake Township, in brief
Chisago Lake Township borrows from the libraries next door
Chisago Lake Township has no public library of its own, but four libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Chisago Lakes Area Library in Chisago City (4.6 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓
Chisago Lake Township isn’t the only town nearby without one
Center City, Lindstrom and Franconia Township don’t have a public library of their own either. Among the towns next door, Chisago City (Chisago Lakes Area Library) and Forest Lake (Hardwood Creek Library) do. Libraries next door ↓
Most nearby libraries are fine-free
Three of the four closest libraries don’t charge late fines. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Chisago Lake Township’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Chisago Lake Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #151 of 271 in Minnesota. Chisago Lake Township is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Chisago Lake Township’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Chisago Lake Township
2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.0%
10.0% of Chisago Lake Township’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 Chisago Lake Township’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 4.6 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Chisago Lake Township. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chisago City | Chisago Lakes Area Library | — | 49 | B− |
| Forest Lake | Hardwood Creek Library fine-free | — | 58 | B |
| Center City | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lindstrom | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Franconia Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Sunrise Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Shafer Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Scandia | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Amador Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Stacy | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Chisago Lake Township
Does Chisago Lake Township have a public library?
No. The closest is Chisago Lakes Area Library in Chisago City, 4.6 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Chisago Lake Township’s civic life grade?
B− Chisago Lake Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on civic life, #151 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 Chisago Lake 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.