Photo: John Lee Lopez · CC BY-SA 4.0Mobridge’s library lends 6.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
A. H. Brown Public Library serves Mobridge’s 3,224 residents. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,644 visits.
What stands out about Mobridge’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Mobridge’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Mobridge is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #10 of 31 in South Dakota. Mobridge’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Mobridge
11.3 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.
12.3%
12.3% of Mobridge’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 Mobridge’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1978
A. H. Brown Public Library, 521 N Main Street, Mobridge.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mobridge? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
A. H. Brown Public Library
Brown, A. H., Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 22, 1978. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as English Medieval and Jacobethan Revival.
The A.H. Brown Public Library, also known as the Mobridge Public Library, on N. Main St. in Mobridge, South Dakota, was built in 1930. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
A. H. Brown Public Library serves 3,224 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
4,460 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
98 programs a year
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 Mobridge last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mobridge cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $148K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $402K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $148K 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 1,895 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 Mobridge
Does Mobridge have a public library?
Yes. A. H. Brown Public Library, 521 N Main Street, serves Mobridge’s 3,224 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is A. H. Brown 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 Mobridge’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mobridge’s civic life grade?
A− Mobridge is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 Mobridge.
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.