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Haakon County Public Library

Philip’s library logs 1.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Haakon County Public Library serves 1,851 people in and around Philip. Last year it lent 3,839 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,027 visits.

140 S Howard, Philip 57567 · about 29 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
3,839
2.1 per resident
Visits a year
3,027
1.6 per resident · Below typical (3.5)
Programs & events
25
about 1 a week · 685 attended
Cardholders
45%
841 cards
Open
29 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Haakon County Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Philip’s civic life grade

Philip isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Philip’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.6 visits · typical 3.5Lower than 82%
Borrowing per resident 1.3 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 86%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1Lower than 56%
Kids’ borrowing 0.7 kids’ items · typical 1.4Lower than 70%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.7Lower than 68%
Programs offered 13.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 60Lower than 83%
Cardholders 45% of residents · typical 54%Lower than 60%
Spending $32 per resident · typical $54Lower than 79%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Haakon County Public Library serves 1,851 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Haakon County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

3,027
visits
1.6 per resident
3,839
loans, print + digital
2.1 per resident
25
programs & events
685 attended
841
library cards
45% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week13people at a program
Every day2Wi-Fi sessions
1 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers
What people borrow

More than half the print loans are kids’ books

3,839 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

3,839loans
Books & media (adults) 30%Kids’ books & media 33%E-books, audio & streaming 38%
From your couch

1,444 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

25 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Philip →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–52
Ages 6–1110
Teens0
Adults13
All ages0
Little ones
0

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

1,257
kids’ books & media borrowed
685
people at programs
25
programs
The building

Find it

Haakon County Public Library, 140 S Howard, Philip.

29
hours open a week
540
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Haakon County Public Library branch.

New in Philip? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.10 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Philip cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$32 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $59K.

Local taxes 96%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $65K 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 841 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Haakon County Public Library serves 1,851 people in and around Philip, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Philip.

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 Philip

Does Philip have a public library?

Yes. Haakon County Public Library, 140 S Howard, serves 1,851 people in and around Philip (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Haakon County 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 Philip’s library?

It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Philip’s civic life grade?

Philip 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 Philip.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.