Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Green Lake’s library runs 105 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Caestecker Public Library serves 3,997 people in and around Green Lake. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
The short version on Green Lake’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Caestecker Public Library ran 418 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 105 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 6,679 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Caestecker Public Library logs 7.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Caestecker Public Library serves 3,997 people in and around Green Lake, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Green Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Green Lake is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Green Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Green Lake’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Green Lake
11.0 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.1%
9.1% of Green 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 Green Lake’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
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.
Caestecker Public Library serves 3,997 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Caestecker Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
12,002 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Caestecker Public Library, 518 Hill St., Green Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Caestecker Public Library branch.
New in Green 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 $3.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Green Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $271K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $847K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $271K 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 1,589 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Lake | Caestecker Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | A |
| Brooklyn | None of its own | — | — | A |
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.
- System-wide. Caestecker Public Library serves 3,997 people in and around Green Lake, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Green Lake.
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 Green Lake
Does Green Lake have a public library?
Yes. Caestecker Public Library, 518 Hill St., serves 3,997 people in and around Green Lake (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Caestecker 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 Green Lake’s library?
It logged 7.9 visits and lent 12.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Green Lake’s civic life grade?
A Green Lake is ahead of 93% 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 Green 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.