Lake Andes Carnegie Library · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Lake Andes’ library runs 207 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Lake Andes Public Library serves Lake Andes’s 685 residents. Last year it lent 2,539 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,360 visits.
Lake Andes’s library, in brief
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 99% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 69% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 31%. The building also logs about 6 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 78% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
A small-town library
Lake Andes Public Library serves 685 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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 Lake Andes’ civic life grade
Lake Andes 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 →
About 2 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 Lake Andes last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Lake Andes Public Library serves 685 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,539 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,359 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
850 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Lake Andes Public Library, 17 Park Avenue, Lake Andes.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lake Andes? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake Andes cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $73K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $51K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $73K 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 379 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 Lake Andes
Does Lake Andes have a public library?
Yes. Lake Andes Public Library, 17 Park Avenue, serves Lake Andes’ 685 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lake Andes 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 Lake Andes’ library?
It logged 6.4 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lake Andes’ civic life grade?
Lake Andes 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 Lake Andes.
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.