Amblard, Emile, Guest House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Waconia’s library is a branch of Carver County Library System, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Waconia’s library is the Waconia Public Library, a branch of Carver County Library System, which serves 113,332 people and lent 1.5M items last year.
Waconia’s library, in brief
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; Waconia’s library is a branch of Carver County Library System, so they cover the whole system (113,332 people), not just the Waconia branch.
What’s behind Waconia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Waconia is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #40 of 271 in Minnesota. Waconia is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Waconia’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 →
78 community nonprofits are registered in Waconia
5.8 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Waconia’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 Waconia’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
Waconia Public Library, 217 S. Vine Street, Waconia.
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 Waconia? 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 Waconia 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waconia | Waconia Public Library | — | 46 | A− |
| Waconia Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Laketown 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.
- System-wide. Waconia 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 Waconia
Does Waconia have a public library?
Yes: Waconia Public Library, 217 S. Vine Street, is a branch of Carver County Library System, which serves 113,332 people. The branch is open about 46 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 Waconia’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 Waconia’s civic life grade?
A− Waconia is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 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 Waconia.
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.