John C. Nutting House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Northfield’s library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Northfield Public Library serves 27,337 people in and around Northfield from 2 locations. Last year it lent 270K books, movies and e-books and logged 186K visits.
Northfield’s library, in brief
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Northfield Public Library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 8.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. 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; Northfield Public Library serves 27,337 people in and around Northfield, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Northfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Northfield is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #28 of 271 in Minnesota. Northfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Northfield’s 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 →
143 community nonprofits are registered in Northfield
6.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (23 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Northfield’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 Northfield’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northfield Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Northfield Public Library serves 27,337 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
270K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
43,388 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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.
2 places to borrow in Northfield
Northfield Public Library, 210 Washington St., Northfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Northfield Public Library branch.
New in Northfield? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Northfield Public Library branches in Northfield
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 15,536 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield | Northfield Public Library fine-free | — | 61 | A |
| Bridgewater Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Northfield Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Greenvale Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Waterford Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Dundas | None of its own | — | — | B |
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. Northfield Public Library serves 27,337 people in and around Northfield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Northfield.
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 Northfield
Does Northfield have a public library?
Yes. Northfield Public Library, 210 Washington St., serves 27,337 people in and around Northfield (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northfield 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 Northfield’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Northfield’s civic life grade?
A Northfield is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #28 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 Northfield.
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.