North Mankato Public School · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0North Mankato’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
North Mankato Taylor Library serves 16,600 people in and around North Mankato. Last year it lent 208K books, movies and e-books and logged 105K visits.
North Mankato’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 72% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
North Mankato Taylor Library logs 6.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
25,000 people came to the system’s 743 programs last year: 1.5 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
76% of the people it serves carry a library card
12,652 cards for 16,600 people, or 76%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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; North Mankato Taylor Library serves 16,600 people in and around North Mankato, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind North Mankato’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Mankato is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #63 of 271 in Minnesota. Library visits hold the grade up; North Mankato’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in North Mankato
3.3 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.7%
9.7% of North Mankato’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 North Mankato’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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.
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.
North Mankato Taylor Library serves 16,600 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole North Mankato Taylor Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
208K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
30,000 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
North Mankato Central, 1001 Belgrade Ave, North Mankato.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every North Mankato Taylor Library branch.
New in North Mankato? 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 $3.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Mankato cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $779K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $779K 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 12,652 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Mankato | North Mankato Central fine-free | — | 40 | B+ |
| Mankato | Blue Earth County Library | — | 52 | A− |
| Belgrade Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Mankato Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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. North Mankato Taylor Library serves 16,600 people in and around North Mankato, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just North Mankato.
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 North Mankato
Does North Mankato have a public library?
Yes. North Mankato Taylor Library, 1001 Belgrade Ave, serves 16,600 people in and around North Mankato (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Mankato Taylor 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 North Mankato’s library?
It logged 6.3 visits and lent 12.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Mankato’s civic life grade?
B+ North Mankato is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #63 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 North Mankato.
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.