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Dawson Carnegie LibraryDawson Carnegie Library · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0
Dawson Public Library · part of Pioneerland Library System

Dawson’s library is a branch of Pioneerland Library System, which lends less per resident than 56% of systems its size

Dawson’s library is the Dawson Public Library, a branch of Pioneerland Library System, which serves 161,633 people and lent 561K items last year.

676 Pine Street, Dawson 56232 · about 38 hours a week
BCivic lifeAhead of 58% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (320) 769-2069 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
561K
3.5 per resident
Visits a year
385K
2.4 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,727
about 72 a week · 57K attended
Cardholders
29%
46,551 cards
Open
38 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Dawson’s library

The branch is a National Register landmark

Dawson Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Today’s library there has 8,500 square feet. The building ↓

Twice the programs of a typical library its size

The Pioneerland Library System ran 3,727 programs last year, about 72 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓

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; Dawson’s library is a branch of Pioneerland Library System, so they cover the whole system (161,633 people), not just the Dawson branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Dawson’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dawson is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns. Dawson is graded on two of the three inputs. Dawson’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

B
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Dawson’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA+Community nonprofits11.9 per 1,000 residents · MN towns 4.2 · U.S. 3.7DVolunteering4.8% of adults 25–44 · MN towns 7.4% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 58%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $52K–$86K (8,968)Ahead of 55%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Dawson is small (1,444 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

18 community nonprofits are registered in Dawson

11.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture21.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation53.30 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans42.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services31.98 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health21.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other21.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

4.8%

4.8% of Dawson’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 Dawson’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 42 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Dawson →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5977
Ages 6–111,194
Teens219
Adults943
All ages394
Little ones
18.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

222K
kids’ books & media borrowed
57K
people at programs
3,727
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.4 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 59%
Borrowing per resident 2.9 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 56%
Digital borrowing 0.6 e-items · typical 1.4Lower than 81%
Kids’ borrowing 1.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 56%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 78%
Programs offered 23.1 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Top 10%
Cardholders 29% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 74%
Spending $35 per resident · typical $36Lower than 52%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Pioneerland Library System serves 161,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pioneerland Library System system. The library’s own count.

385K
visits
2.4 per resident
561K
loans, print + digital
3.5 per resident
3,727
programs & events
57K attended
47K
library cards
29% of people served
Every open hour11items borrowed
Every week1,105people at a program
Every day113Wi-Fi sessions
67 staff (full-time equivalent)239 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

561K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

561Kloans
Books & media (adults) 45%Kids’ books & media 40%E-books, audio & streaming 16%
From your couch

89,222 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

A National Register landmark since 1985

Dawson Public Library, 676 Pine Street, Dawson.

Directions(320) 769-2069
38
hours open a week
8,500
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pioneerland Library System branch.

New in Dawson? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Dawson Carnegie Library
The building’s story

Dawson Carnegie Library

Dawson Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 15, 1985. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival.

More about the building →
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.60 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dawson cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$35 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.6M.

Local taxes 76%State 18%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.6M 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 46,551 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Dawson Public Library is one branch of Pioneerland Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 161,633 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 Dawson

Does Dawson have a public library?

Yes: Dawson Public Library, 676 Pine Street, is a branch of Pioneerland Library System, which serves 161,633 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Pioneerland Library System 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 Dawson’s library?

It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Dawson’s civic life grade?

B Dawson is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Dawson.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.