Photo: LakeLida at English Wikipedia · Public domainPelican Rapids’ library logs 6.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Pelican Rapids Public Library serves Pelican Rapids’s 4,726 residents. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.
What stands out about Pelican Rapids’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Pelican Rapids’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pelican Rapids is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #195 of 271 in Minnesota. Pelican Rapids is graded on two of the three inputs. Pelican Rapids’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$80K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Pelican Rapids
4.3 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.5%
5.5% of Pelican Rapids’ 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 Pelican Rapids’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Pelican Rapids Public Library serves 4,726 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
5,733 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Pelican Rapids last year.
Find it
Pelican Rapids Public Library, 25 West Mill Avenue, Pelican Rapids.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Pelican Rapids? 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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pelican Rapids cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $310K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $446K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $310K 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 2,917 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Pelican Rapids
Does Pelican Rapids have a public library?
Yes. Pelican Rapids Public Library, 25 West Mill Avenue, serves Pelican Rapids’ 4,726 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pelican Rapids 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 Pelican Rapids’ library?
It logged 6.4 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Pelican Rapids’ civic life grade?
C Pelican Rapids is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #195 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 Pelican Rapids.
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.