Casselton Commercial Historic District · Photo: Andrew Filer (afiler) · CC BY-SA 2.0Casselton’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Casselton Public Library serves Casselton’s 2,479 residents. Last year it lent 33K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Casselton’s library
More library cards than residents
2,874 cards for 2,479 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 68% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 20 items per child in Casselton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Casselton Public Library spends $35 per resident, less than 74% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still borrowed from more than 76% of them. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Casselton Public Library serves 2,479 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 35 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Casselton is a town of borrowers
Casselton Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Casselton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Casselton is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Casselton’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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Casselton
7.8 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.
11.2%
11.2% of Casselton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical North Dakota 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 Casselton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Casselton Public Library serves 2,479 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
33K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
6,099 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 Casselton last year.
Find it
Casselton Public Library, 702 1st Street North, Casselton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Casselton? 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 $6.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Casselton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $87K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $538K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $87K 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 2,874 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casselton | Casselton Public Library | 13.4 | 35 | A |
| Everest Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Casselton 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.
- 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 Casselton
Does Casselton have a public library?
Yes. Casselton Public Library, 702 1st Street North, serves Casselton’s 2,479 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Casselton 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 Casselton’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 13.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Casselton’s civic life grade?
A Casselton is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Casselton.
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.