Marshall County Courthouse · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Britton’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Britton Public Library serves Britton’s 1,209 residents. Last year it lent 26K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Britton’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,780 cards for 1,209 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 ↓
Britton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Britton Public Library logs 8.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. It’s 32% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 52 items per child in Britton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Britton invests in its library
Britton Public Library spends $168 per resident a year, about three times the typical $54 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Britton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Britton is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns. Britton’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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Britton
34.4 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 (2 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.
5.2%
5.2% of Britton’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 Britton’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
8,250 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Britton Public Library serves 1,209 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Britton last year.
Find it
Britton Public Library, 759 7th St., Britton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Britton? 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 $2.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Britton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $203K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $420K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $203K 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 1,780 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 Britton
Does Britton have a public library?
Yes. Britton Public Library, 759 7th St., serves Britton’s 1,209 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Britton 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 Britton’s library?
It logged 8.7 visits and lent 21.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Britton’s civic life grade?
A− Britton is ahead of 80% 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 Britton.
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.