Augusta’s library lends 5.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Augusta Memorial Public Library serves Augusta’s 2,685 residents. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
What stands out about Augusta’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Augusta’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Augusta is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Augusta is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Augusta
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.4%
12.4% of Augusta’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 Augusta’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Augusta Memorial Public Library serves 2,685 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
5,473 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
100 programs a year
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 Augusta last year.
Find it
Augusta Memorial Public Library, 113 N. Stone St., Augusta.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Augusta? 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 $2.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Augusta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $171K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $364K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $171K 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 982 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 Augusta
Does Augusta have a public library?
Yes. Augusta Memorial Public Library, 113 N. Stone St., serves Augusta’s 2,685 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Augusta Memorial 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 Augusta’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 7.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Augusta’s civic life grade?
A Augusta is ahead of 90% 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 Augusta.
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.