Photo: Asher Heimermann · CC BY-SA 4.0Elkhart Lake’s library logs 7.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Elkhart Lake Public Library serves Elkhart Lake’s 3,626 residents. Last year it lent 36K books, movies and e-books and logged 26K visits.
The short version on Elkhart Lake’s library
Elkhart Lake uses its library more than almost any town its size
Elkhart Lake Public Library logs 7.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.1 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. 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 Elkhart Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elkhart Lake is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Elkhart Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Elkhart Lake
6.0 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.8%
10.8% of Elkhart Lake’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 Elkhart Lake’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Elkhart Lake Public Library serves 3,626 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
6,963 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
Elkhart Lake Public Library, 40 Pine St., Elkhart Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Elkhart Lake? 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 $2.69 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elkhart Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $212K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $570K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $212K 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 1,197 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 Elkhart Lake
Does Elkhart Lake have a public library?
Yes. Elkhart Lake Public Library, 40 Pine St., serves Elkhart Lake’s 3,626 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elkhart Lake 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 Elkhart Lake’s library?
It logged 7.1 visits and lent 10.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Elkhart Lake’s civic life grade?
A Elkhart Lake is ahead of 92% 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 Elkhart 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.