Badger’s library runs 315 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Badger Public Library serves Badger’s 550 residents. Last year it lent 856 print books and media and logged 3,457 visits.
What Badger’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 76% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 17%. The building also logs about 8 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 89% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Badger Public Library ran 173 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 315 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,362 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Badger Public Library serves 550 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 21 hours a week
Badger Public Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 11% of the people Badger Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. 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 Badger’s civic life grade
Badger isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Badger last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Badger Public Library serves 550 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Badger Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
856 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 4,264 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Badger Public Library, 211 1st Ave SE, Badger.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Badger cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $26K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $37K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $26K 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 62 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Badger
Does Badger have a public library?
Yes. Badger Public Library, 211 1st Ave SE, serves Badger’s 550 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Badger Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Badger’s library?
It logged 6.3 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Badger’s civic life grade?
Badger isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Badger.
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.