Photo: Corey Coyle · CC BY 3.0Elkhorn’s library runs 34 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Matheson Memorial Library serves Elkhorn’s 28,248 residents. Last year it lent 238K books, movies and e-books and logged 109K visits.
Elkhorn’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 55 items per child in Elkhorn last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 948 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 333 were for children. 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 Elkhorn’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elkhorn is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #48 of 358 in Wisconsin. Elkhorn is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Elkhorn’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 →
88 community nonprofits are registered in Elkhorn
8.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Elkhorn’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 Elkhorn’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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 Elkhorn last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Matheson Memorial Library serves 28,248 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 76 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
238K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 80K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
27,333 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Matheson Memorial Library, 101 N. Wisconsin St., Elkhorn.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Elkhorn? 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 $3.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elkhorn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 10,637 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkhorn | Matheson Memorial Library | 8.4 | 60 | A |
| Sugar Creek | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Geneva | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Lafayette | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Delavan | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Elkhorn
Does Elkhorn have a public library?
Yes. Matheson Memorial Library, 101 N. Wisconsin St., serves Elkhorn’s 28,248 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Matheson Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Elkhorn’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Elkhorn’s civic life grade?
A Elkhorn is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #48 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 Elkhorn.
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.