Bon Homme County Courthouse · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Tyndall’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Tyndall Public Library serves Tyndall’s 1,075 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 2,215 visits.
The short version on Tyndall’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 73%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Tyndall Public Library serves 1,075 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Tyndall Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Public Library of Tyndall has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. Today’s library there has 1,344 square feet. The building ↓
Nearly everyone in Tyndall has a card
985 cards for 1,075 people, or 92%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
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 Tyndall’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tyndall is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Tyndall’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$63K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Tyndall
11.0 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.4%
4.4% of Tyndall’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 Tyndall’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
1,498 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Tyndall Public Library serves 1,075 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
14 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 Tyndall last year.
A National Register landmark since 1984
Tyndall Public Library, 110 W 17th Ave, Tyndall.
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 Tyndall? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Public Library of Tyndall
Carnegie Public Library of Tyndall was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 13, 1984. It is significant for its education at the local level.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tyndall cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $48K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $203K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $48K 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 985 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Tyndall Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Tyndall
Does Tyndall have a public library?
Yes. Tyndall Public Library, 110 W 17th Ave, serves Tyndall’s 1,075 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tyndall 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 Tyndall’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 12.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Tyndall’s civic life grade?
C+ Tyndall is ahead of 39% 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 Tyndall.
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.