Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0Grafton’s library logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Carnegie Regional Library serves 10,563 people in and around Grafton. Last year it lent 9,485 books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
Grafton’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
91% of the 68 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Carnegie Regional Library offered 68 programs last year, 6.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Carnegie Regional Library lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 92% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% 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; Carnegie Regional Library serves 10,563 people in and around Grafton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Grafton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grafton is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #1 of 22 in North Dakota. Grafton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Grafton’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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Grafton
9.8 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.8%
9.8% of Grafton’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 Grafton’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.
Carnegie Regional Library serves 10,563 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at Carnegie Regional Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carnegie Regional Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
9,485 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
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.
Find it
Carnegie Regional Library, 49 West 7th Street, Grafton.
Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carnegie Regional Library branch.
New in Grafton? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grafton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $190K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K 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 662 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafton | Carnegie Regional Library | — | 44 | A |
| Oakwood Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Grafton 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.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Carnegie Regional Library serves 10,563 people in and around Grafton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Grafton.
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 Grafton
Does Grafton have a public library?
Yes. Carnegie Regional Library, 49 West 7th Street, serves 10,563 people in and around Grafton (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie Regional Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Grafton’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Grafton’s civic life grade?
A Grafton is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Grafton.
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.