Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Depot · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Beresford’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Beresford Public Library serves Beresford’s 2,103 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
The short version on Beresford’s library
More library cards than residents
3,276 cards for 2,103 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 ↓
Beresford uses its library more than almost any town its size
Beresford Public Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 106 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 20 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 19 items per child in Beresford last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Beresford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Beresford is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs put Beresford near the top nationally; library visits rank highest.
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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Beresford
10.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
13.5%
13.5% of Beresford’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical South 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 Beresford’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Beresford Public Library serves 2,103 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
9,096 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Beresford last year.
Find it
Beresford Public Library, 115 South Third Street, Beresford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Beresford? 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 $2.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Beresford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $279K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $601K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $279K 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 3,276 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beresford | Beresford Public Library fine-free | 17.6 | 43 | A+ |
| Pleasant Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Prairie 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 Beresford
Does Beresford have a public library?
Yes. Beresford Public Library, 115 South Third Street, serves Beresford’s 2,103 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Beresford 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 Beresford’s library?
It logged 13.8 visits and lent 17.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Beresford’s civic life grade?
A+ Beresford is among the top 1% 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 Beresford.
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.