Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Crosby’s library lends 7.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Divide County Public Library serves 2,195 people in and around Crosby. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,347 visits.
The short version on Crosby’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 85% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 71 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 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; Divide County Public Library serves 2,195 people in and around Crosby, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Crosby’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Crosby is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. Crosby is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Crosby’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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Crosby
17.8 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Crosby’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 Crosby’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Divide County Public Library serves 2,195 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Divide County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,764 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Divide County Public Library, 204 First Street NE, Crosby.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Divide County Public Library branch.
New in Crosby? 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 $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Crosby cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $167K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $393K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $167K 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 999 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crosby | Divide County Public Library fine-free | — | 45 | A+ |
| Fillmore 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.
- System-wide. Divide County Public Library serves 2,195 people in and around Crosby, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Crosby.
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 Crosby
Does Crosby have a public library?
Yes. Divide County Public Library, 204 First Street NE, serves 2,195 people in and around Crosby (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Divide County 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 Crosby’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 9.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Crosby’s civic life grade?
A+ Crosby is ahead of 97% 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 Crosby.
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.