Norwood Methodist Episcopal Church · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Norwood Young America’s library is a branch of Carver County Library System, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Norwood Young America’s library is the Norwood Young America Public Library, a branch of Carver County Library System, which serves 113,332 people and lent 1.5M items last year.
The short version on Norwood Young America’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 67% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
The Carver County Library System lends 9.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 28% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 1,428 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 14 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Norwood Young America’s library is a branch of Carver County Library System, so they cover the whole system (113,332 people), not just the Norwood Young America branch.
What’s behind Norwood Young America’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Norwood Young America is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #50 of 271 in Minnesota. Norwood Young America is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Norwood Young America’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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Norwood Young America
5.1 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 (2 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.
9.1%
9.1% of Norwood Young America’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 Norwood Young America’s residents live; 2022.
About 19 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Carver County Library System serves 113,332 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 95 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carver County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
415,993 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Norwood Young America Public Library, 314 Elm Street West, Norwood-Young Americ.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carver County Library System branch.
New in Norwood Young America? 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 $4.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norwood Young America cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.9M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 71,686 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Norwood Young America Public Library is one branch of Carver County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 113,332 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 Norwood Young America
Does Norwood Young America have a public library?
Yes: Norwood Young America Public Library, 314 Elm Street West, is a branch of Carver County Library System, which serves 113,332 people. The branch is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carver County Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Norwood Young America’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 13.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Norwood Young America’s civic life grade?
A− Norwood Young America is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #50 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 Norwood Young America.
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.