Ely’s public library is a busy place, and one that appears to residents beyond the city limits.
An annual report released last month showed that the facility had 41,105 visits in 2025, nearly identical to 2024 numbers showing 41,413.
More than half of Ely’s roughly 3,300 residents have library cards, but another 1,571 people from outside Ely’s boundaries also hold cards.
Total circulation was 67,498, almost the same as the 67,505 in 2024, but Ely residents make up just 31.2 percent of total circulation.
The next-highest total in circulation numbers comes from downloadable items, which make up 25.8 percent.
Next-highest is Morse Township, taking up 20.8 percent of library circulation, with other Arrowhead Library (Babbitt, Tower, etc.) users making up seven percent and Fall Lake residents another 6.6 percent. Next was Eagles Nest Township at just under three percent.
Circulation numbers at the facility, which opened in 2015, reached as high as 74,000 in 2018 and dipped to just over 42,726 when Covid-19 forced temporary closures in 2020.
The last three years have been largely similar, with a high of 69,192 in 2023.
The bulk of last year’s circulation was physical with 50,068 items. But that was down about 3,000 from last year and more than offset by a big jump in downloadable circulation, which rose from 12,110 in 2024 to 15,870 in 2025.
A closer look at the numbers revealed that the library had over 11,000 reference transactions, 1,543 public internet computer sessions and 46,195 wireless internet sessions in 2025.
The library’s website was visited 15,589 times.
Programs are a big part of the happenings at Ely’s library, and the facility offered 170 programs in 2025, up from 142 the year before.
About half were for children, with the remainder split between adult-focused programs and those for all ages.
Attendance jumped from 2,140 to 2,300 for those events.
Ely’s library had 37,341 print materials, which encompasses both books and periodicals, while the facility also has 1,190 audio materials and 4,625 videos.
