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Durand Free LibraryDurand Free Library · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0
Durand Community Library

Durand’s library logs 7.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Durand Community Library serves Durand’s 4,716 residents. Last year it lent 31K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.

604 7th Ave. E., Durand 54736 · about 49 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 78% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
31K
6.5 per resident
Visits a year
34K
7.2 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
54
about 1 a week · 997 attended
Cardholders
39%
1,850 cards
Open
49 hrs
a week

What stands out about Durand’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Durand’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Durand is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Durand is graded on two of the three inputs. Durand’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Durand’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 78%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $44K–$74K (7,389)Ahead of 76%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Durand is small (1,854 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

15 community nonprofits are registered in Durand

8.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation42.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans42.37 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services21.04 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.81 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.52 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other21.33 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

7.2%

7.2% of Durand’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 Durand’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

34K
visits
7.2 per resident
31K
loans, print + digital
6.5 per resident
54
programs & events
997 attended
1,850
library cards
39% of people served
Every open hour12items borrowed
Every week19people at a program
Every day7Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)3 public computers18K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 7.2 visits · typical 3Higher than 87%
Borrowing per resident 4.8 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 62%
Digital borrowing 1.7 e-items · typical 1Higher than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 2.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 67%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 77%
Programs offered 11.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 83%
Cardholders 39% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 54%
Spending $35 per resident · typical $43Lower than 62%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Durand Community Library serves 4,716 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

31Kloans
Books & media (adults) 38%Kids’ books & media 37%E-books, audio & streaming 26%
How hard the shelves work
1.3×

Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.

From your couch

7,997 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

54 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Durand →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–522
Ages 6–1120
Teens2
Adults10
All ages0
Little ones
0.4

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
29

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Durand last year.

997
people at programs
54
programs
The building

Find it

Durand Community Library, 604 7th Ave. E., Durand.

49
hours open a week
11,000
square feet
18K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Durand? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.85 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Durand cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$348
a year at retail prices · $29 a month

Who pays for it
$35 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $165K.

Local taxes 86%Federal 0%Gifts & other 13%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $469K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $165K 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 1,850 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Durand

Does Durand have a public library?

Yes. Durand Community Library, 604 7th Ave. E., serves Durand’s 4,716 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Durand 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 Durand’s library?

It logged 7.2 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Durand’s civic life grade?

A− Durand is ahead of 78% 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 Durand.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.