Photo: ShakataGaNai · CC BY-SA 3.0Ely’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Ely Public Library serves Ely’s 3,249 residents. Last year it lent 65K books, movies and e-books and logged 41K visits.
What Ely’s library is like
Ely uses its library more than almost any town its size
Ely Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Ely has a card
3,113 cards for 3,249 people, or 96%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 31% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 65 items per child in Ely last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 18% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Ely invests in its library
Ely Public Library spends $130 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Ely’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ely is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #9 of 271 in Minnesota. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ely’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 →
82 community nonprofits are registered in Ely
25.3 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.2%
9.2% of Ely’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 Ely’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 28 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ely Public Library serves 3,249 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
65K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 41K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
12,110 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Ely last year.
Find it
Ely Public Library, 224 E Chapman St., Ely.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ely? 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 $2.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ely cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $424K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $424K 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 3,113 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Ely
Does Ely have a public library?
Yes. Ely Public Library, 224 E Chapman St., serves Ely’s 3,249 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ely Public 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 Ely’s library?
It logged 12.7 visits and lent 20.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ely’s civic life grade?
A+ Ely is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 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 Ely.
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.