Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Little Falls’ library is a branch of Great River Regional Library, which lends more per resident than 65% of systems its size
Little Falls’s library is the Little Falls Public Library, a branch of Great River Regional Library, which serves 515,855 people and lent 2.8M items last year.
What stands out about Little Falls Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Little Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Little Falls is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #12 of 271 in Minnesota. Little Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Little Falls’ 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 →
88 community nonprofits are registered in Little Falls
9.7 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 (13 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.
9.8%
9.8% of Little Falls’ 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 Little Falls’ residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Little Falls Public Library, 108 NE 3rd Street, Little Falls.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Great River Regional Library branch.
New in Little Falls? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Little Falls Carnegie Library
Little Falls Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Nov 3, 1980. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Craftsman.
The Little Falls Carnegie Library is a historic Carnegie library in Little Falls, Minnesota. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 3, 1980, for its architectural significance.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Great River Regional Library serves 515,855 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Great River Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
478,063 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 32 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Little Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $42M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.8M 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 101,699 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Falls | Little Falls Public Library fine-free | — | 43 | A |
| Little Falls Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Pike Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Belle Prairie Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Green Prairie 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.
- System-wide. Little Falls Public Library is one branch of Great River Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 515,855 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 Little Falls
Does Little Falls have a public library?
Yes: Little Falls Public Library, 108 NE 3rd Street, is a branch of Great River Regional Library, which serves 515,855 people. The branch is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Great River Regional 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 Little Falls’ library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Little Falls’ civic life grade?
A Little Falls is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #12 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 Little Falls.
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.