Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Glenwood’s library lends 6.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Glenwood Public Library serves Glenwood’s 5,353 residents. Last year it lent 43K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
What Glenwood’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 53 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 39 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Glenwood Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 6,461 square feet. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Glenwood Public Library offered 53 programs last year, 9.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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.
What’s behind Glenwood’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Glenwood is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #10 of 271 in Minnesota. Glenwood is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Glenwood’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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Glenwood
10.7 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Glenwood’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 Glenwood’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Glenwood Public Library serves 5,353 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
43K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
8,831 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
53 programs a year
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 Glenwood last year.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Glenwood Public Library, 108 SE First Av, Glenwood.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Glenwood? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Glenwood Public Library
Glenwood Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 1, 1982. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Pope County MRA.
Glenwood Public Library is the public library serving the city and surrounding area of Glenwood, Minnesota, United States. The original wing of the building was constructed in 1908 as a Carnegie library and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its local significance in architecture and education.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.70 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Glenwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $241K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $650K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $241K 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 4,111 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenwood | Glenwood Public Library | 8.0 | 34 | A+ |
| Glenwood Township | None of its own | — | — | A+ |
| Minnewaska Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Reno Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Long Beach | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Leven Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Glenwood
Does Glenwood have a public library?
Yes. Glenwood Public Library, 108 SE First Av, serves Glenwood’s 5,353 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Glenwood 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 Glenwood’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Glenwood’s civic life grade?
A+ Glenwood is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Glenwood.
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.