Photo: AlexiusHoratius · CC BY-SA 3.0Canton’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Canton Public Library serves Canton’s 3,001 residents. Last year it lent 62K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
The short version on Canton’s library
Canton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Canton Public Library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 37% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 25 items per child in Canton last year. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Canton Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2016. Today’s library there has 7,900 square feet. The building ↓
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.
What’s behind Canton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Canton is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 31 in South Dakota. All three inputs put Canton near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks 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 Canton
8.2 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 (7 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.
18.0%
18.0% of Canton’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 Canton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Canton Public Library serves 3,001 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
62K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
14,659 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Canton last year.
A National Register landmark since 2016
Canton Public Library, 225 N Broadway, Canton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Canton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Canton Carnegie Library
Canton Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 6, 2016. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level.
The Canton Carnegie Library, at 225 E. 4th St. in Canton, South Dakota, was built in 1913. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. It is a raised one-story building with basement built of brick with sandstone trim, upon a concrete foundation. It was designed by Huron, South Dakota architect George Issenhuth.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Canton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $199K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $986K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $199K 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 2,062 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton | Canton Public Library fine-free | 20.7 | 45 | A+ |
| Canton 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 Canton
Does Canton have a public library?
Yes. Canton Public Library, 225 N Broadway, serves Canton’s 3,001 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Canton 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 Canton’s library?
It logged 9.7 visits and lent 20.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Canton’s civic life grade?
A+ Canton is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 of 31 in South Dakota. 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 Canton.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.