Photo: Ua747sp · CC BY-SA 3.0Washburn’s library lends 8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Washburn Public Library serves Washburn’s 1,300 residents. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,526 visits.
The short version on Washburn’s library
Busy on a lean budget
Washburn Public Library spends $30 per resident, less than 81% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still borrowed from more than 74% of them. What your card is worth ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 69% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 18 items per child in Washburn last year. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Washburn Public Library serves 1,300 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 33 hours a week. 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 ↓
North Dakota pays a big share
28% of the budget comes from the state, and 48% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Washburn Public Library logs about 27 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 2 public computers. That’s 7.6 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 Washburn’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Washburn is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Washburn’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 Washburn
7.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of Washburn’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 Washburn’s residents live; 2022.
71 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 Washburn last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Washburn Public Library serves 1,300 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Washburn Public Library, 705 Main Ave, Washburn.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Washburn? 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 $5.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washburn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $39K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $194K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $39K 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 951 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Washburn
Does Washburn have a public library?
Yes. Washburn Public Library, 705 Main Ave, serves Washburn’s 1,300 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Washburn 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 Washburn’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 8.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Washburn’s civic life grade?
A− Washburn is ahead of 76% 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 Washburn.
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.