Lee Township’s library is a branch of Lakota City Library, which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size
Lee Township’s library is the Aneta Public Library, a branch of Lakota City Library, which serves 2,623 people and lent 5,107 items last year.
What Lee Township’s library is like
Open only about 10 hours a week
The Lee Township branch keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The Lakota City Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Lakota City Library system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
38% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 62%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Lee Township’s library is a branch of Lakota City Library, so they cover the whole system (2,623 people), not just the Lee Township branch.
What’s behind Lee Township’s civic life grade
Lee Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lakota City Library serves 2,623 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lakota City Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,107 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,994 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
30 programs a year
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
Aneta Public Library, 11995 19th Street NE, Aneta.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lakota City Library branch.
New in Lee Township? 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 $1.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lee Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $53K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $97K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $53K 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 209 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Township | Aneta Public Library fine-free | — | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Nesheim Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Ora Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Field Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lenora Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Pilot Mound 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. Aneta Public Library is one branch of Lakota City Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 2,623 people it serves.
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 Lee Township
Does Lee Township have a public library?
Yes: Aneta Public Library, 11995 19th Street NE, is a branch of Lakota City Library, which serves 2,623 people. The branch is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lakota City 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 Lee Township’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Lee Township’s civic life grade?
Lee Township isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Lee Township.
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.