Photo: self · CC BY-SA 2.5Deerfield’s library lends 8.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Deerfield Public Library serves Deerfield’s 3,350 residents. Last year it lent 38K books, movies and e-books and logged 10K visits.
What Deerfield’s library is like
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 26% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Deerfield Public Library logs about 47 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 5.1 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 17 items per child in Deerfield last year. 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.
What’s behind Deerfield’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Deerfield is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #90 of 358 in Wisconsin. Deerfield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Deerfield’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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Deerfield
5.9 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.
8.5%
8.5% of Deerfield’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 Deerfield’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
38K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
10,046 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Deerfield Public Library serves 3,350 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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 Deerfield last year.
Find it
Deerfield Public Library, 12 W. Nelson St., Deerfield.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Deerfield? 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 $2.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Deerfield cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $248K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $624K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $248K 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 1,567 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 Deerfield
Does Deerfield have a public library?
Yes. Deerfield Public Library, 12 W. Nelson St., serves Deerfield’s 3,350 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Deerfield 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 Deerfield’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 11.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Deerfield’s civic life grade?
A− Deerfield is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #90 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 Deerfield.
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.