Greendale Historic District · Photo: Freekee · CC0Greendale’s library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Greendale Public Library serves Greendale’s 14,651 residents. Last year it lent 199K books, movies and e-books and logged 135K visits.
Greendale’s library, in brief
Greendale uses its library more than almost any town its size
Greendale Public Library logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 93% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in Greendale last year. 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 Greendale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Greendale is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #116 of 358 in Wisconsin. Library visits hold the grade up; Greendale’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Greendale
2.9 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.1%
10.1% of Greendale’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 Greendale’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Greendale Public Library serves 14,651 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
199K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 61K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
29,342 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Greendale last year.
Find it
Greendale Public Library, 5647 Broad St., Greendale.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Greendale? 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 $4.14 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Greendale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $707K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $707K 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 5,983 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Greendale ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hales Corners | Hales Corners Public Library | 13.8 | 60 | A |
| Greendale | Greendale Public Library | 13.6 | 60 | A− |
| Franklin | Franklin Public Library | 10.2 | 61 | B |
| Greenfield | Greenfield Public Library | 7.0 | 65 | C |
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 Greendale
Does Greendale have a public library?
Yes. Greendale Public Library, 5647 Broad St., serves Greendale’s 14,651 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greendale 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 Greendale’s library?
It logged 9.2 visits and lent 13.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Greendale’s civic life grade?
A− Greendale is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #116 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 Greendale.
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.