Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Hettinger’s library runs 240 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Adams County Library serves 2,200 people in and around Hettinger. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,489 visits.
The short version on Hettinger’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Adams County Library ran 527 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 240 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 73% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 74%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Hettinger branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Adams County Library serves 2,200 people in and around Hettinger, 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 Hettinger’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hettinger is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Hettinger is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hettinger’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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Hettinger
11.2 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.5%
8.5% of Hettinger’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 Hettinger’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Adams County Library serves 2,200 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Adams County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,544 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Adams County Library, 103 N 6th Street, Hettinger.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Adams County Library branch.
New in Hettinger? 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 $3.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hettinger cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $96K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $324K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $96K 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 685 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hettinger | Adams County Library fine-free | — | 18 | A |
| Hettinger 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. Adams County Library serves 2,200 people in and around Hettinger, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hettinger.
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 Hettinger
Does Hettinger have a public library?
Yes. Adams County Library, 103 N 6th Street, serves 2,200 people in and around Hettinger (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Adams County 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 Hettinger’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 8.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hettinger’s civic life grade?
A Hettinger is ahead of 90% 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 Hettinger.
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.