Chief Lake’s library logs 3.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library serves 2,595 people in and around Chief Lake. Last year it lent 4,520 books, movies and e-books and logged 9,932 visits.
The short version on Chief Lake’s library
Federal money pays a real share
33% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 66% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library offered 24 programs last year, 9.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library serves 2,595 people in and around Chief Lake, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Chief Lake’s civic life grade
Chief Lake isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library serves 2,595 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,520 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
573 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
24 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library, 13466 W. Trepania Rd., Hayward.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library branch.
New in Chief Lake? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chief Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $143K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $86K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $143K 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 758 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Lake | Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library fine-free | — | 43 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bass Lake | Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library fine-free | — | 43 | B |
| Little Round Lake | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Reserve | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hayward | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Couderay | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| New Post | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hunter | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- System-wide. Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library serves 2,595 people in and around Chief Lake, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Chief Lake.
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 Chief Lake
Does Chief Lake have a public library?
Yes. Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community Library, 13466 W. Trepania Rd., serves 2,595 people in and around Chief Lake (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Community 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 Chief Lake’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chief Lake’s civic life grade?
Chief Lake isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Chief Lake.
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.