Boulder Junction’s library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Boulder Junction Public Library serves 2,066 people in and around Boulder Junction. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 19K visits.
The short version on Boulder Junction’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
40% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 59%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Boulder Junction Public Library serves 2,066 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 32 hours a week. 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 ↓
People come to Boulder Junction Public Library a lot
Boulder Junction Public Library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Boulder Junction Public Library serves more than Boulder Junction
The library’s service area covers 2,066 people in and around Boulder Junction, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
70% of the 206 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 36 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Boulder Junction’s civic life grade
Boulder Junction isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Boulder Junction
11.7 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Boulder Junction Public Library serves 2,066 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
6,210 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
206 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Boulder Junction Public Library, 5392 Park St., Boulder Junction.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Boulder Junction? 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 $2.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Boulder Junction cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $129K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $345K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $129K 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 1,270 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Boulder Junction ranks 4th of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land O'Lakes | Land O' Lakes Public Library fine-free | 28.9 | 36 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Manitowish Waters | Frank B. Koller Memorial Library fine-free | 15.4 | 34 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Presque Isle | Presque Isle Community Library fine-free | 13.2 | 33 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Boulder Junction | Boulder Junction Public Library fine-free | 9.3 | 32 | — too few inputs |
| Plum Lake | Plum Lake Public Library fine-free | 8.6 | 33 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lac du Flambeau | Ben Guthrie--Lac Du Flambeau Public Library fine-free | — | 41 | C |
| Arbor Vitae | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
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 Boulder Junction
Does Boulder Junction have a public library?
Yes. Boulder Junction Public Library, 5392 Park St., serves 2,066 people in and around Boulder Junction (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boulder Junction 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 Boulder Junction’s library?
It logged 9.2 visits and lent 9.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Boulder Junction’s civic life grade?
Boulder Junction isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Boulder Junction.
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.