Photo: The original uploader was Dekkanar at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Elk Point’s library lends 5.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library serves 4,449 people in and around Elk Point. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,000 visits.
Elk Point’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library offered 4 programs last year, 0.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 5.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library spends $13 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library serves 4,449 people in and around Elk Point, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Elk Point’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elk Point is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Elk Point is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Elk Point’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
22 community nonprofits are registered in Elk Point
8.7 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.8%
10.8% of Elk Point’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 Elk Point’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library serves 4,449 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,887 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
4 programs a year
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
Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library, 402 S Douglas, Elk Point.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library branch.
New in Elk Point? 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 $8.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elk Point cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $59K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $480K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $59K 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 2,894 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library serves 4,449 people in and around Elk Point, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Elk Point.
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 Elk Point
Does Elk Point have a public library?
Yes. Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School Library, 402 S Douglas, serves 4,449 people in and around Elk Point (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elk Point-Jefferson Community/School 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 Elk Point’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Elk Point’s civic life grade?
A+ Elk Point is ahead of 96% 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 Elk Point.
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.