Photo: Andrew Filer · CC BY-SA 2.0Park River’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Park River School & Public Library serves 1,424 people in and around Park River. Last year it lent 7,574 books, movies and e-books and logged 685 visits.
Park River’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 100% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 80% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Open only about 12 hours a week
The Park River branch keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Park River School & Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, below 97% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 3.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
North Dakota pays a big share
29% of the budget comes from the state, and 71% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Park River School & Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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; Park River School & Public Library serves 1,424 people in and around Park River, 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 Park River’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Park River is ahead of 29% of U.S. towns. Park River’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$87K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Park River
15.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: health.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.7%
4.7% of Park River’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 Park River’s residents live; 2022.
7 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Park River School & Public Library serves 1,424 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Park River School & Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,574 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,541 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Park River School & Public Library, 704 5th Street West, Park River.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Park River School & Public Library branch.
New in Park River? 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 $8.86 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Park River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $12K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $103K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12K 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 942 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park River | Park River School & Public Library fine-free | — | 12 | C |
| Kensington Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Rushford 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. Park River School & Public Library serves 1,424 people in and around Park River, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Park River.
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 Park River
Does Park River have a public library?
Yes. Park River School & Public Library, 704 5th Street West, serves 1,424 people in and around Park River (the survey’s count) and is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Park River School & 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 Park River’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Park River’s civic life grade?
C Park River is ahead of 29% 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 Park River.
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.