Climax’s library is a branch of Lake Agassiz Regional Library, which lends more per resident than 53% of systems its size
Climax’s library is the Climax Library, a branch of Lake Agassiz Regional Library, which serves 149,603 people and lent 746K items last year.
The short version on Climax’s library
Open only about 19 hours a week
The Climax 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
26% of the budget comes from the state, and 68% 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; Climax’s library is a branch of Lake Agassiz Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (149,603 people), not just the Climax branch.
What’s behind Climax’s civic life grade
Climax 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Lake Agassiz Regional Library serves 149,603 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lake Agassiz Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
746K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
245,912 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 21 kids’ programs a week
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.
Find it
Climax Library, 104 W Broadway, Climax.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lake Agassiz Regional Library branch.
New in Climax? 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 $2.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Climax cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.5M 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 54,536 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Climax Library is one branch of Lake Agassiz Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 149,603 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 Climax
Does Climax have a public library?
Yes: Climax Library, 104 W Broadway, is a branch of Lake Agassiz Regional Library, which serves 149,603 people. The branch is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lake Agassiz Regional 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 Climax’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Climax’s civic life grade?
Climax 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 Climax.
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.