Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Devils Lake’s library logs 3.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Lake Region Public Library serves 11,605 people in and around Devils Lake. Last year it lent 38K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
The short version on Devils Lake’s library
The branch is a National Register landmark
Devils Lake Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2002. Today’s library there has 9,033 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 232 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.4 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; Lake Region Public Library serves 11,605 people in and around Devils Lake, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Devils Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Devils Lake is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #3 of 22 in North Dakota. Devils Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. Devils Lake’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 →
70 community nonprofits are registered in Devils Lake
9.6 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 (8 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.
7.4%
7.4% of Devils Lake’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 Devils Lake’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2002
Lake Region Public Library, 423 7th Street NE, Devils Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lake Region Public Library branch.
New in Devils Lake? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Devils Lake Carnegie Library
Devils Lake Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 6, 2002. It is significant for its architecture, education and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of Philanthropically Established Libraries in North Dakota MPS.
The Devils Lake Carnegie Library is a Carnegie library located in Devils Lake, North Dakota. It was built in 1909 and designed by architect Joseph A. Shannon. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
More about the building →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.
Lake Region Public Library serves 11,605 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lake Region Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
38K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,621 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Devils Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $336K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $648K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $336K 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 2,337 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devils Lake | Lake Region Public Library fine-free | — | 48 | A− |
| Creel Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| North Creel 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. Lake Region Public Library serves 11,605 people in and around Devils Lake, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Devils Lake.
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 Devils Lake
Does Devils Lake have a public library?
Yes. Lake Region Public Library, 423 7th Street NE, serves 11,605 people in and around Devils Lake (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lake Region 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 Devils Lake’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Devils Lake’s civic life grade?
A− Devils Lake is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 of 22 in North Dakota. 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 Devils Lake.
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.