Photo: Widgetkid · CC BY-SA 4.0Edina’s library is a branch of Hennepin County Library, which lends more per resident than 92% of systems its size
Edina’s library is the Southdale Library, a branch of Hennepin County Library, which serves 1,297,847 people and lent 18M items last year.
Edina’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Hennepin County Library system logs 3.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 35% of all loans. 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; Edina’s library is a branch of Hennepin County Library, so they cover the whole system (1,297,847 people), not just the Edina branch.
What’s behind Edina’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Edina is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #107 of 271 in Minnesota. Edina is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
214 community nonprofits are registered in Edina
4.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (44 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 26 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Edina’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 Edina’s residents live; 2022.
About 104 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Hennepin County Library serves 1,297,847 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 177 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hennepin County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
18M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,304,516 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Edina
Southdale Library, 7001 York Avenue South, Edina.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hennepin County Library branch.
New in Edina? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Hennepin County Library branches in Edina
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edina cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $75M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $287M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $75M 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 646,260 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edina | Southdale Library fine-free | — | 63 | B |
| Bloomington | Penn Lake Library fine-free | — | 52 | B− |
| Hopkins | Hopkins Library fine-free | — | 52 | B+ |
| St. Louis Park | St. Louis Park Library fine-free | — | 52 | B |
| Eden Prairie | Eden Prairie Library fine-free | — | 63 | C |
| Minnetonka | Ridgedale Library fine-free | — | 63 | B− |
| Minneapolis | Minneapolis Central Library fine-free | — | 63 | A |
| Richfield | Augsburg Park Library fine-free | — | 48 | B |
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. Southdale Library is one branch of Hennepin County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,297,847 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 Edina
Does Edina have a public library?
Yes: Southdale Library, 7001 York Avenue South, is a branch of Hennepin County Library, which serves 1,297,847 people. The branch is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hennepin County 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 Edina’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 13.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Edina’s civic life grade?
B Edina is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life, #107 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 Edina.
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.