Photo: Nathan.besteman · CC BY 3.0Edgerton’s library lends 24 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Edgerton Public Library serves Edgerton’s 2,838 residents. Last year it lent 72K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
Edgerton’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 74% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 211 items per child in Edgerton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Edgerton uses its library more than almost any town its size
Edgerton Public Library logs 7.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 24 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 96 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 36% of similar-size libraries. The print collection works hard: each item went out about 2.1 times last year. What people borrow ↓
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.
What’s behind Edgerton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Edgerton is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. Edgerton is graded on two of the three inputs. Edgerton’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Edgerton
10.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.3%
4.3% of Edgerton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical Minnesota 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 Edgerton’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Edgerton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Edgerton Public Library serves 2,838 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
72K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
4,095 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Edgerton Public Library, 811 1st Av W, Edgerton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Edgerton? The Handbook →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 $9.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edgerton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $101K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $982K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $101K 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 1,216 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Edgerton
Does Edgerton have a public library?
Yes. Edgerton Public Library, 811 1st Av W, serves Edgerton’s 2,838 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edgerton 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 Edgerton’s library?
It logged 7.4 visits and lent 25.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Edgerton’s civic life grade?
B− Edgerton is ahead of 54% 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 Edgerton.
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.