Photo: skua47 · CC BY 2.0Wagner’s library runs 109 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Wagner Public Library serves Wagner’s 1,426 residents. Last year it lent 7,749 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,833 visits.
The short version on Wagner’s library
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 155 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 20 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Wagner Public Library serves 1,426 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 38 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 Wagner’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wagner is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. Wagner’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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Wagner
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
5.2%
5.2% of Wagner’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 Wagner’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Wagner Public Library serves 1,426 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,749 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
1,357 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Wagner last year.
2 places to borrow in Wagner
Wagner Public Library, 106 Sheridan Ave, Wagner.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wagner? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Wagner
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wagner cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $88K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $134K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $88K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 487 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagner | Wagner Public Library | 5.4 | 38 | B− |
| Bryan Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lawrence 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.
- 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 Wagner
Does Wagner have a public library?
Yes. Wagner Public Library, 106 Sheridan Ave, serves Wagner’s 1,426 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wagner Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wagner’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 5.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wagner’s civic life grade?
B− Wagner is ahead of 51% 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 Wagner.
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.