Photo: Coemgenus at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Hardin’s library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Big Horn County Public Library serves 13,124 people in and around Hardin. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
The short version on Hardin’s library
People visit, but borrow less than most
Big Horn County Public Library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 97% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 233 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 43 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; Big Horn County Public Library serves 13,124 people in and around Hardin, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hardin’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hardin is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #19 of 28 in Montana. Hardin is graded on two of the three inputs. Hardin’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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Hardin
9.4 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Hardin’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.0% in the typical Montana 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 Hardin’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Big Horn County Public Library serves 13,124 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Big Horn County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,718 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 3 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.
Find it
Big Horn County Public Library, 419 North Custer Avenue, Hardin.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Big Horn County Public Library branch.
New in Hardin? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hardin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $293K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $221K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $293K 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 5,938 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Big Horn County Public Library serves 13,124 people in and around Hardin, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hardin.
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 Hardin
Does Hardin have a public library?
Yes. Big Horn County Public Library, 419 North Custer Avenue, serves 13,124 people in and around Hardin (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Big Horn County Public 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 Hardin’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hardin’s civic life grade?
B+ Hardin is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on civic life, #19 of 28 in Montana. 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 Hardin.
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.