Photo: Schwerdf · CC BY 4.0New Ulm’s library lends 9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
New Ulm Public Library serves New Ulm’s 14,083 residents. Last year it lent 148K books, movies and e-books and logged 87K visits.
New Ulm’s library, in brief
New Ulm uses its library more than almost any town its size
New Ulm Public Library logs 6.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 9 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 21 items per child in New Ulm last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 606 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 118 were for children. 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 New Ulm’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, New Ulm is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #64 of 271 in Minnesota. New Ulm’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 →
108 community nonprofits are registered in New Ulm
7.7 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 (16 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.
5.9%
5.9% of New Ulm’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 New Ulm’s residents live; 2022.
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 New Ulm last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
New Ulm Public Library serves 14,083 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
148K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 72K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
21,249 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
New Ulm Public Library, 17 North Broadway, New Ulm.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Ulm? 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 $2.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Ulm cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 6,347 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Ulm | New Ulm Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 55 | B+ |
| Milford Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Courtland Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cottonwood Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lafayette 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 New Ulm
Does New Ulm have a public library?
Yes. New Ulm Public Library, 17 North Broadway, serves New Ulm’s 14,083 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Ulm 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 New Ulm’s library?
It logged 6.2 visits and lent 10.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is New Ulm’s civic life grade?
B+ New Ulm is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on civic life, #64 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 New Ulm.
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.