Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Big Stone City’s library is a branch of Grant County Public Library, which lends more per resident than 67% of systems its size
Big Stone City’s library is the Grant County-Big Stone City Branch, a branch of Grant County Public Library, which serves 7,553 people and lent 52K items last year.
What Big Stone City’s library is like
Open only about 10 hours a week
The Big Stone City branch keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
66% of the 349 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 114 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Big Stone City’s library is a branch of Grant County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (7,553 people), not just the Big Stone City branch.
What’s behind Big Stone City’s civic life grade
Big Stone City 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Grant County Public Library serves 7,553 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grant County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
52K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,446 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, 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
Grant County-Big Stone City Branch, 400 Washington, Suite 102, Big Stone City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Grant County Public Library branch.
New in Big Stone City? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Big Stone City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $364K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $875K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $364K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,379 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Stone City | Grant County-Big Stone City Branch | — | 10 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Ortonville | Ortonville Public Library | — | 41 | A− |
| Big Stone 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. Grant County-Big Stone City Branch is one branch of Grant County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 7,553 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 Big Stone City
Does Big Stone City have a public library?
Yes: Grant County-Big Stone City Branch, 400 Washington, Suite 102, is a branch of Grant County Public Library, which serves 7,553 people. The branch is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grant County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Big Stone City’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 6.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Big Stone City’s civic life grade?
Big Stone City 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 Big Stone City.
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.