Capt. Alexander A. Arnold Farm · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Galesville’s library lends 4.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Galesville Public Library serves Galesville’s 5,390 residents. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 18K visits.
What stands out about Galesville’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Galesville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Galesville is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns. Galesville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Galesville’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$89K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Galesville
3.5 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.8%
5.8% of Galesville’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 Galesville’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Galesville Public Library serves 5,390 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
26K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
55 programs a year
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 Galesville last year.
Find it
Galesville Public Library, 16787 S. Main St., Galesville.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Galesville? 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 $2.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Galesville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $190K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $418K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $190K 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 1,401 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Galesville
Does Galesville have a public library?
Yes. Galesville Public Library, 16787 S. Main St., serves Galesville’s 5,390 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Galesville 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 Galesville’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Galesville’s civic life grade?
C Galesville is ahead of 26% 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 Galesville.
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.