Sherwood Forest Lodge Complex · Photo: Kelvin0mql · CC BY-SA 3.0Lake Shore has no public library of its own; the nearest is Brainerd Public Library in Brainerd, 12.9 miles away
Lake Shore doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Brainerd Public Library in Brainerd, 12.9 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
B−Civic lifeAhead of 52% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.Getting a library card from Lake Shore
The nearest library is 13 miles from Lake Shore
Lake Shore has no public library of its own, and the closest, Brainerd Public Library in Brainerd, is 13 miles from the town center. The next nearest is Pine River Public Library, 15 miles away. Nearest libraries ↓
Lake Shore isn’t the only town nearby without one
Fairview Township, Home Brook Township and Nisswa don’t have a public library of their own either. Libraries next door ↓
The nearby libraries are all fine-free
None of the four closest libraries charges late fines. Nearest libraries ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.
What’s behind Lake Shore’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lake Shore is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. Lake Shore is graded on two of the three inputs. Lake Shore’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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Lake Shore
7.6 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.0%
5.0% of Lake Shore’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 Lake Shore’s residents live; 2022.
The closest is 12.9 miles away
Closest first, measured from the center of Lake Shore. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview Township | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Home Brook Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Nisswa | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Loon Lake 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 Lake Shore
Does Lake Shore have a public library?
No. The closest is Brainerd Public Library in Brainerd, 12.9 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.
What is Lake Shore’s civic life grade?
B− Lake Shore is ahead of 52% 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 Lake Shore.
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.