Owatonna-Steele County Library, serving an area of 36,000 residents, has a collection of 120,000 books and periodicals; in addition, there are 6,900 CDs, records, cassettes and other audio materials, as well as 3,100 video items, such as DVDs and VHS tapes. Internet terminals are available for use by the general public.
Staffing consists of 16 employees, of whom 4 are fully accredited librarians, plus volunteers. The system comprises one central library and one branch library. Annual expenditures on the library collection total $168,000. Patrons make 230,000 visits annually, and check out materials 440,000 times. Forty-six percent of all check-outs are children's materials.
