Photo: James Steakley · CC BY-SA 3.0Jefferson’s library lends 6.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Jefferson Public Library serves Jefferson’s 11,402 residents. Last year it lent 87K books, movies and e-books and logged 38K visits.
What stands out about Jefferson’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Jefferson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Jefferson is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #120 of 358 in Wisconsin. Jefferson is graded on two of the three inputs. Jefferson’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
56 community nonprofits are registered in Jefferson
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.3%
7.3% of Jefferson’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 Jefferson’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Jefferson Public Library, 321 S. Main St., Jefferson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Jefferson? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Jefferson Public Library
Jefferson Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 17, 1980. It is significant for its architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Prairie School.
The Jefferson Public Library is a historic Carnegie library building at 305 S. Main Street in Jefferson, Wisconsin.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jefferson Public Library serves 11,402 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
87K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
17,286 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 Jefferson last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Jefferson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $681K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $681K 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 3,064 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson | Jefferson Public Library fine-free | 7.6 | 57 | A− |
| Aztalan | None of its own | — | — | 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 Jefferson
Does Jefferson have a public library?
Yes. Jefferson Public Library, 321 S. Main St., serves Jefferson’s 11,402 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jefferson 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 Jefferson’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 7.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Jefferson’s civic life grade?
A− Jefferson is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #120 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 Jefferson.
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.