Thief River Falls Public Library · Photo: Andrew Filer · Public domainThief River Falls’ library is a branch of Northwest Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 51% of systems its size
Thief River Falls’s library is the Thief River Falls Public Library, a branch of Northwest Regional Library, which serves 43,373 people and lent 159K items last year.
The short version on Thief River Falls’s library
Minnesota pays a big share
48% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Thief River Falls Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Today’s library there has 10,752 square feet. The building ↓
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; Thief River Falls’s library is a branch of Northwest Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (43,373 people), not just the Thief River Falls branch.
What’s behind Thief River Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Thief River Falls is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #191 of 271 in Minnesota. Thief River Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Thief River Falls’ 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 ($53K–$89K) 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 →
45 community nonprofits are registered in Thief River Falls
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Thief River Falls’ 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 Thief River Falls’ residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1983
Thief River Falls Public Library, 102 First Street East, Thief River Falls.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Northwest Regional Library branch.
New in Thief River Falls? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Thief River Falls Public Library
Thief River Falls Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 6, 1983. It is significant for its architecture at the local level.
The Thief River Falls Library is a library and historic site in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, USA that dates from 1900.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Northwest Regional Library serves 43,373 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northwest Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
159K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thief River Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 12,926 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thief River Falls | Thief River Falls Public Library | — | 58 | C |
| Rocksbury Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| North 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Thief River Falls Public Library is one branch of Northwest Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 43,373 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 Thief River Falls
Does Thief River Falls have a public library?
Yes: Thief River Falls Public Library, 102 First Street East, is a branch of Northwest Regional Library, which serves 43,373 people. The branch is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northwest Regional Library 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 Thief River Falls’ library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 3.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Thief River Falls’ civic life grade?
C Thief River Falls is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #191 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 Thief River Falls.
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.