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MNMinnesota rankings

Towns that borrow the most from their library in Minnesota

Ranked by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. 18 towns with 2,500+ residents.

IMLS Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024

Windom
Minnesota · Most library borrowing

Where Windom lands: #11 of 18

7.9 per resident books, movies & e-books borrowed a year · Visit Windom →

Stillwater 1 Stillwater 22.8 per resident Stillwater Public Library Ely 2 Ely 20.2 per resident Ely Public Library Map of Bayport 3 Bayport 17.5 per resident Bayport Public Library
#TownLoans per residentLibraryLoans a year
1 Stillwater Stillwater19,355 people 22.8 per resident Stillwater Public Library 442,463
2 Ely Ely3,240 people 20.2 per resident Ely Public Library 65,485
3 Map of Bayport Bayport3,905 people 17.5 per resident Bayport Public Library 67,532
4 Two Harbors Two Harbors3,567 people 17.3 per resident Two Harbors Public Library 64,126
5 New Ulm New Ulm14,056 people 10.5 per resident New Ulm Public Library 147,619
6 Map of Cloquet Cloquet12,537 people 10.0 per resident Cloquet Public Library 127,193
7 Virginia Virginia8,332 people 9.6 per resident Virginia Public Library 80,280
8 St. Paul St. Paul307,284 people 9.2 per resident Saint Paul Public Library 2,866,265
9 Duluth Duluth87,093 people 8.7 per resident Duluth Public Library 751,174
10 Columbia Heights Columbia Heights22,155 people 8.2 per resident Columbia Heights Public Library 176,804
11 Windom Windom4,799 people 7.9 per resident Windom Public Library 37,869
12 Map of International Falls International Falls5,642 people 7.5 per resident International Falls Public Library 41,769
13 Moose Lake Moose Lake2,863 people 7.5 per resident Moose Lake Public Library 20,634
14 Map of Mountain Iron Mountain Iron2,860 people 7.3 per resident Mountain Iron Public Library 20,779
15 Eveleth Eveleth3,448 people 6.8 per resident Eveleth Public Library 23,788
16 East Grand Forks East Grand Forks9,028 people 4.4 per resident East Grand Forks Campbell Library 40,296
17 Chisholm Chisholm4,712 people 4.3 per resident Chisholm Public Library 19,821
18 Hibbing Hibbing16,057 people 4.0 per resident Hibbing Public Library 64,853

How this ranking works

We rank every town by books, movies, e-books and other items the town’s public library lent in a year, per resident. The highest figure ranks #1. Each library reports its own yearly numbers to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (fiscal year 2024), and each town’s Library page shows how it compares with libraries of a similar size nationwide.

A town is ranked only when its library system serves that town alone, and the library’s own count of the people it serves is within 20% of the town’s population. Towns served by a county or regional system, or sharing a library with a neighbor, can’t be credited with the numbers, so they aren’t ranked. Libraries that didn’t respond to the survey aren’t ranked either. Vacation towns can rank high because summer residents and visitors use the library too.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Libraries: IMLS Public Libraries Survey. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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