Anderson, Brady and Waldermar Ager House · Photo: Jeff the quiet · CC0Eau Claire’s library lends 7.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library serves Eau Claire’s 91,323 residents. Last year it lent 839K books, movies and e-books and logged 264K visits.
What Eau Claire’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Eau Claire Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Today’s library there has 70,000 square feet. The building ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 125,000 items on the shelves went out about 5.2 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
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 Eau Claire’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Eau Claire is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #147 of 358 in Wisconsin. Eau Claire is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Eau Claire’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 →
332 community nonprofits are registered in Eau Claire
4.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (65 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.4%
8.4% of Eau Claire’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 Eau Claire’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1983
L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 400 Eau Claire St., Eau Claire.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Eau Claire? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Eau Claire Public Library
Eau Claire Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 28, 1983. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neoclassical. It was listed as part of Eau Claire MRA.
The Eau Claire Public Library building is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library serves 91,323 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 260 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
839K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 125K books and other items on the shelves went out about 5.2 times last year, on average.
192,967 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 kids’ programs 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 Eau Claire last year.
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 Eau Claire cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.1M 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 30,437 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altoona | Altoona Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 61 | B |
| Eau Claire | L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 62 | B+ |
| Washington | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Union | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Seymour | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Lake Hallie | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Wheaton | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Brunswick | None of its own | — | — | C− |
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 Eau Claire
Does Eau Claire have a public library?
Yes. L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 400 Eau Claire St., serves Eau Claire’s 91,323 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is L.E. Phillips 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 Eau Claire’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 9.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Eau Claire’s civic life grade?
B+ Eau Claire is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #147 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 Eau Claire.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.