Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown · Public domainTwo Harbors’ library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Two Harbors Public Library serves Two Harbors’s 3,698 residents. Last year it lent 64K books, movies and e-books and logged 33K visits.
The short version on Two Harbors’s library
Two Harbors uses its library more than almost any town its size
Two Harbors Public Library logs 8.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
3,899 cards for 3,698 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 29% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Two Harbors Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. Today’s library there has 8,000 square feet. The building ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Two Harbors last year. 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.
What’s behind Two Harbors’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Two Harbors is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #2 of 271 in Minnesota. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Two Harbors’ 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Two Harbors
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.5%
11.5% of Two Harbors’ 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 Two Harbors’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Two Harbors Public Library serves 3,698 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
18,690 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs 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 Two Harbors last year.
A National Register landmark since 1986
Two Harbors Public Library, 320 Waterfront Drive, Two Harbors.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Two Harbors? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Two Harbors Carnegie Library
Two Harbors Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jul 31, 1986. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neo-Classical.
The Two Harbors Carnegie Library, located at 320 Waterfront Avenue, Two Harbors, Minnesota, United States, is a public library building built in 1909 with a $15,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. This was one of over 3,000 libraries in 47 states funded by Carnegie. It was built in the Classical Revival style with brick and sandstone.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Two Harbors cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $310K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $983K 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 3,899 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Harbors | Two Harbors Public Library fine-free | 17.3 | 35 | A+ |
| Silver Creek Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Two Harbors Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Two Harbors
Does Two Harbors have a public library?
Yes. Two Harbors Public Library, 320 Waterfront Drive, serves Two Harbors’ 3,698 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Two Harbors 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 Two Harbors’ library?
It logged 8.9 visits and lent 17.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Two Harbors’ civic life grade?
A+ Two Harbors is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Two Harbors.
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.