Photo: Asher Heimermann · CC BY-SA 4.0Kohler’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Kohler Public Library serves Kohler’s 4,775 residents. Last year it lent 67K books, movies and e-books and logged 65K visits.
The short version on Kohler’s library
Kohler uses its library more than almost any town its size
Kohler Public Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 75% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 63 items per child in Kohler last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 111 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. 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 Kohler’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kohler is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Kohler is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Kohler near the top nationally; Kohler’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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Kohler
9.7 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.5%
12.5% of Kohler’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 Kohler’s residents live; 2022.
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 Kohler last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Kohler Public Library serves 4,775 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
67K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
9,189 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Kohler Public Library, 240 School Street, Kohler.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kohler? 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 $3.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kohler cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $256K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $934K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $256K 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 1,672 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Kohler borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kohler | Kohler Public Library fine-free | 14.0 | 51 | A+ |
| Sheboygan Falls | Sheboygan Falls Memorial Library fine-free | 8.5 | 54 | A |
| Sheboygan | Mead Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 60 | A |
| Sheboygan | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Wilson | 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 Kohler
Does Kohler have a public library?
Yes. Kohler Public Library, 240 School Street, serves Kohler’s 4,775 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kohler 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 Kohler’s library?
It logged 13.7 visits and lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Kohler’s civic life grade?
A+ Kohler is ahead of 98% 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 Kohler.
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.