Elk Mound’s library lends 5.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Menomonie Public Library serves 37,071 people in and around Elk Mound. Last year it lent 269K books, movies and e-books and logged 76K visits.
The short version on Elk Mound’s library
Open only about 12 hours a week
Menomonie Public Library keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 44,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.7 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Menomonie Public Library serves more than Elk Mound
The library’s service area covers 37,071 people in and around Elk Mound, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Elk Mound’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elk Mound is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. Elk Mound is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Elk Mound’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$84K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Elk Mound
2.0 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.7%
9.7% of Elk Mound’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 Elk Mound’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Menomonie Public Library serves 37,071 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 82 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
269K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.7 times last year, on average.
61,718 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
Find it
Elk Mound Branch, E 101 Menomonie St., Elk Mound.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Elk Mound? 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 $3.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elk Mound cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 9,401 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 Elk Mound
Does Elk Mound have a public library?
Yes. Menomonie Public Library, E 101 Menomonie St., serves 37,071 people in and around Elk Mound (the survey’s count) and is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Menomonie 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 Elk Mound’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 7.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Elk Mound’s civic life grade?
C+ Elk Mound is ahead of 42% 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 Elk Mound.
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.