Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0Ortonville’s library is a branch of Pioneerland Library System, which lends less per resident than 56% of systems its size
Ortonville’s library is the Ortonville Public Library, a branch of Pioneerland Library System, which serves 161,633 people and lent 561K items last year.
Ortonville’s library, in brief
The branch is a National Register landmark
Ortonville Free Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Today’s library there has 4,700 square feet. The building ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Pioneerland Library System ran 3,727 programs last year, about 72 a week. That’s 23 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. 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; Ortonville’s library is a branch of Pioneerland Library System, so they cover the whole system (161,633 people), not just the Ortonville branch.
What’s behind Ortonville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ortonville is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. Ortonville is graded on two of the three inputs. Ortonville’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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Ortonville
16.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
6.8%
6.8% of Ortonville’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 Ortonville’s residents live; 2022.
About 42 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Pioneerland Library System serves 161,633 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pioneerland Library System system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
561K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
89,222 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1985
Ortonville Public Library, 412 NW 2nd Street, Ortonville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pioneerland Library System branch.
New in Ortonville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Ortonville Free Library
Ortonville Free Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 15, 1985. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Mission Revival.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ortonville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.6M 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 46,551 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ortonville | Ortonville Public Library | — | 41 | A− |
| Big Stone City | Grant County-Big Stone City Branch | — | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Ortonville Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Big Stone Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Big Stone 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. Ortonville Public Library is one branch of Pioneerland Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 161,633 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 Ortonville
Does Ortonville have a public library?
Yes: Ortonville Public Library, 412 NW 2nd Street, is a branch of Pioneerland Library System, which serves 161,633 people. The branch is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pioneerland 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 Ortonville’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Ortonville’s civic life grade?
A− Ortonville is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Ortonville.
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.