Photo: Jasperthedog28 · CC BY-SA 4.0Appleton’s library lends 5.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Appleton Public Library serves Appleton’s 101,324 residents. Last year it lent 768K books, movies and e-books and logged 171K visits.
Appleton’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Appleton’s library lends 7.6 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Kimberly at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 534 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
Appleton Public Library is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 253 items go out. The building ↓
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 Appleton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Appleton is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #167 of 358 in Wisconsin. Appleton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Appleton’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
360 community nonprofits are registered in Appleton
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (58 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.8%
7.8% of Appleton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Wisconsin 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 Appleton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Appleton Public Library serves 101,324 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 253 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
768K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 198K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
255,527 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 kids’ programs 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 Appleton last year.
Find it
Appleton Public Library, 200 N. Appleton St., Appleton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Appleton? 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 $2.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Appleton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.1M 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 52,393 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Appleton ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kimberly | Kimberly Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 49 | B+ |
| Menasha | Elisha D. Smith Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 69 | B− |
| Little Chute | Little Chute Public Library fine-free | 8.7 | 52 | C |
| Appleton | Appleton Public Library fine-free | 7.6 | 66 | B+ |
| Grand Chute | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Harrison | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Freedom | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Fox Crossing | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Center | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Harrison | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Buchanan | None of its own | — | — | D |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Appleton
Does Appleton have a public library?
Yes. Appleton Public Library, 200 N. Appleton St., serves Appleton’s 101,324 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Appleton Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Appleton’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 7.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Appleton’s civic life grade?
B+ Appleton is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #167 of 358 in Wisconsin. 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 Appleton.
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.