Photo: Ammodramus · Public domainHartington’s library logs 27 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Hartington Public Library serves Hartington’s 1,499 residents. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 41K visits.
The short version on Hartington’s library
Hartington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Hartington Public Library logs 27 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 27 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 82% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 76 items per child in Hartington last year. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
1,671 cards for 1,499 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 279 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Hartington Public Library serves 1,499 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 47 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 ↓
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 Hartington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hartington is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Hartington Public Library logged 27.4 visits per resident in FY2024, #12 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 Hartington
13.6 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Hartington’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Nebraska 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 Hartington’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
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 Hartington last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Hartington Public Library serves 1,499 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
7,628 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 2019
Hartington Public Library, 106 South Broadway, Hartington.
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 Hartington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hartington Carnegie Library
Hartington Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 27, 2019. It is significant for its social history and education at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries in Nebraska MPS.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hartington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $198K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $689K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $198K 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 1,671 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Hartington’s 41,051 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Hartington Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Hartington
Does Hartington have a public library?
Yes. Hartington Public Library, 106 South Broadway, serves Hartington’s 1,499 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hartington 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 Hartington’s library?
It logged 27.4 visits and lent 32.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Its visits per resident rank #12 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Hartington’s civic life grade?
A Hartington is ahead of 93% 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 Hartington.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.