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Grantsburg Public Library

Grantsburg’s library lends 3.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size

Grantsburg Public Library serves Grantsburg’s 6,708 residents. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 20K visits.

415 S. Robert St., Grantsburg 54840 · about 39 hours a week
ACivic lifeAhead of 90% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
29K
4.4 per resident
Visits a year
20K
3 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
232
about 4 a week · 3,133 attended
Cardholders
30%
1,980 cards
Open
39 hrs
a week

What stands out about Grantsburg’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Grantsburg’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Grantsburg is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Grantsburg 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.

A
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Grantsburg’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 90%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $26K–$44K (1,049)Ahead of 93%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Grantsburg is small (1,374 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

7 community nonprofits are registered in Grantsburg

5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.45 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.22 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other21.49 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

11.2%

11.2% of Grantsburg’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 Grantsburg’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

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.

Visits per resident 3 visits · typical 3Higher than 51%
Borrowing per resident 3.2 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 58%
Digital borrowing 1.2 e-items · typical 1Higher than 56%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 52%
Program attendance 0.5 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 53%
Programs offered 34.6 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 50%
Cardholders 30% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 70%
Spending $24 per resident · typical $43Lower than 79%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Grantsburg Public Library serves 6,708 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

20K
visits
3 per resident
29K
loans, print + digital
4.4 per resident
232
programs & events
3,133 attended
1,980
library cards
30% of people served
Every open hour15items borrowed
Every week60people at a program
Every day23Wi-Fi sessions
2 staff (full-time equivalent)5 public computers14K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

29Kloans
Books & media (adults) 39%Kids’ books & media 34%E-books, audio & streaming 26%
How hard the shelves work
1.6×

Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.

From your couch

7,795 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Grantsburg →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–562
Ages 6–1135
Teens70
Adults58
All ages7
Little ones
1.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
35

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Grantsburg last year.

3,133
people at programs
232
programs
The building

Find it

Grantsburg Public Library, 415 S. Robert St., Grantsburg.

39
hours open a week
7,500
square feet
14K
books & media
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.

New in Grantsburg? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.02 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grantsburg cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$24 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $162K.

Local taxes 80%State 0%Gifts & other 20%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $490K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $162K 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 1,980 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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 Grantsburg

Does Grantsburg have a public library?

Yes. Grantsburg Public Library, 415 S. Robert St., serves Grantsburg’s 6,708 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Grantsburg 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 Grantsburg’s library?

It logged 3.0 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Grantsburg’s civic life grade?

A Grantsburg is ahead of 90% 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 Grantsburg.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.