Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Hibbing’s library runs 16 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Hibbing Public Library serves Hibbing’s 16,028 residents. Last year it lent 65K books, movies and e-books and logged 51K visits.
What stands out about Hibbing’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Hibbing’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hibbing is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #134 of 271 in Minnesota. Hibbing’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
112 community nonprofits are registered in Hibbing
7.0 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of Hibbing’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 Hibbing’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hibbing Public Library serves 16,028 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
65K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 81K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
18,250 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Hibbing last year.
Find it
Hibbing Public Library, 2020 East 5th Avenue, Hibbing.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hibbing? 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 $1.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hibbing cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $827K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $827K 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 5,431 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hibbing | Hibbing Public Library fine-free | 4.0 | 36 | B− |
| Keewatin | Keewatin Public Library | 3.7 | 40 | — graded with its twin city |
| Cherry Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Balkan Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lone Pine Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lavell Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Nashwauk Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Nashwauk | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Great Scott 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Hibbing Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Hibbing
Does Hibbing have a public library?
Yes. Hibbing Public Library, 2020 East 5th Avenue, serves Hibbing’s 16,028 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hibbing Public 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 Hibbing’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hibbing’s civic life grade?
B− Hibbing is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life, #134 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 Hibbing.
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.