Larimore City Hall · Photo: Mathieu S. Nicklay · CC BY-SA 3.0Larimore’s library lends 9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Edna Ralston Public Library serves Larimore’s 1,260 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,315 visits.
Larimore’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
73% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 25%. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 9 hours a week
Edna Ralston Public Library keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 84% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 64%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Edna Ralston Public Library serves 1,260 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
A place to get online
Edna Ralston Public Library logs about 35 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 10 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Larimore’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Larimore is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. Larimore’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Larimore
8.9 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.
11.7%
11.7% of Larimore’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 Larimore’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
16 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Edna Ralston Public Library serves 1,260 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
38 programs a year
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 Larimore last year.
Find it
Edna Ralston Public Library, 116 1/2 Towner Avenue, Larimore.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Larimore? 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 $7.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Larimore cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $32K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $229K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $32K 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 798 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larimore | Edna Ralston Public Library fine-free | 9.1 | 9 | A− |
| Larimore Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Arvilla 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 Larimore
Does Larimore have a public library?
Yes. Edna Ralston Public Library, 116 1/2 Towner Avenue, serves Larimore’s 1,260 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edna Ralston 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 Larimore’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 9.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Larimore’s civic life grade?
A− Larimore is ahead of 83% 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 Larimore.
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.