Arcadia Free Public Library · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Arcadia’s library runs 23 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Arcadia Free Public Library serves Arcadia’s 5,647 residents. Last year it lent 18K print books and media and logged 16K visits.
What stands out about Arcadia’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Arcadia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Arcadia is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #287 of 358 in Wisconsin. Arcadia is graded on two of the three inputs. Arcadia’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$93K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Arcadia
5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.0%
3.0% of Arcadia’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 Arcadia’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Arcadia Free Public Library serves 5,647 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
18K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 Arcadia last year.
Find it
Arcadia Free Public Library, 730 Raider Drive Suite 3140, Arcadia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Arcadia? 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 $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Arcadia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $273K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $399K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $273K 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 1,667 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 Arcadia
Does Arcadia have a public library?
Yes. Arcadia Free Public Library, 730 Raider Drive Suite 3140, serves Arcadia’s 5,647 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Arcadia Free 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 Arcadia’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 3.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Arcadia’s civic life grade?
C Arcadia is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #287 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 Arcadia.
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.