John Mundt Building · Photo: publichall · CC BY-SA 3.0Hartford’s library is a branch of Siouxland Libraries, which lends more per resident than 78% of systems its size
Hartford’s library is the Hartford Branch-Siouxland Libraries, a branch of Siouxland Libraries, which serves 255,913 people and lent 2.1M items last year.
The short version on Hartford’s library
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Hartford branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 2,024 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 24 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Hartford’s library is a branch of Siouxland Libraries, so they cover the whole system (255,913 people), not just the Hartford branch.
What’s behind Hartford’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hartford is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #15 of 31 in South Dakota. Hartford is graded on two of the three inputs. Hartford’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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Hartford
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.0%
7.0% of Hartford’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 Hartford’s residents live; 2022.
About 30 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Siouxland Libraries serves 255,913 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 89 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Siouxland Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
607,415 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Hartford Branch-Siouxland Libraries, 119 N Main Avenue, Suite A, Hartford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Siouxland Libraries branch.
New in Hartford? 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 $2.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hartford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 82,121 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford | Hartford Branch-Siouxland Libraries fine-free | — | 18 | B+ |
| Hartford 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. Hartford Branch-Siouxland Libraries is one branch of Siouxland Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 255,913 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 Hartford
Does Hartford have a public library?
Yes: Hartford Branch-Siouxland Libraries, 119 N Main Avenue, Suite A, is a branch of Siouxland Libraries, which serves 255,913 people. The branch is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Siouxland Libraries 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 Hartford’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 8.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Hartford’s civic life grade?
B+ Hartford is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 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 Hartford.
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.