Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Fennimore’s library lends 5.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Dwight T. Parker Public Library serves Fennimore’s 4,277 residents. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Fennimore’s library
Programs are almost all for children
90% of the 82 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 39 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Dwight T. Parker Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983. Today’s library there has 3,890 square feet. The building ↓
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 Fennimore’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Fennimore is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #20 of 358 in Wisconsin. Fennimore is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Fennimore’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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Fennimore
11.3 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Fennimore’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 Fennimore’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1983
Dwight T. Parker Public Library, 925 Lincoln Ave., Fennimore.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fennimore? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Dwight T. Parker Public Library
Parker, Dwight T., Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 10, 1983. It is significant for its architecture at the local level.
Dwight T. Parker Public Library is a public library in Fennimore, Wisconsin. The building was constructed in 1923 to house the city's library, which had previously been based in a Methodist church and the Old Fennimore House. Dwight T. Parker, a local banker, funded the library.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Dwight T. Parker Public Library serves 4,277 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
4,017 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Fennimore last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fennimore cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $168K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $450K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $168K 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 852 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 Fennimore
Does Fennimore have a public library?
Yes. Dwight T. Parker Public Library, 925 Lincoln Ave., serves Fennimore’s 4,277 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dwight T. Parker Public 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 Fennimore’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Fennimore’s civic life grade?
A Fennimore is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #20 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 Fennimore.
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.