Photo: Eli Wedel · CC BY-SA 4.0Lake Mills’ library lends 7.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
L.D. Fargo Public Library serves Lake Mills’s 10,185 residents. Last year it lent 105K books, movies and e-books and drew 4,995 people to its programs.
Lake Mills’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 58% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 33 items per child in Lake Mills last year. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
L. D. Fargo Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 11,460 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 277 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.4 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 Lake Mills’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lake Mills is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #22 of 358 in Wisconsin. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Lake Mills 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.
The survey’s stand-in for Lake Mills’ 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Lake Mills
5.1 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 (9 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.
16.7%
16.7% of Lake Mills’ 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 Lake Mills’ residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Lake Mills last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
L.D. Fargo Public Library serves 10,185 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
105K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
25,880 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 1982
L.D. Fargo Public Library, 120 E. Madison St., Lake Mills.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lake Mills? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
L. D. Fargo Public Library
Fargo, L. D., Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 18, 1982. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Late Victorian Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival.
The L. D. Fargo Public Library is a historic public library at 120 E. Madison Street in Lake Mills, Wisconsin.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake Mills cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $470K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $470K 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 4,324 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.
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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. L.D. Fargo Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Lake Mills
Does Lake Mills have a public library?
Yes. L.D. Fargo Public Library, 120 E. Madison St., serves Lake Mills’ 10,185 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is L.D. Fargo 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 Lake Mills’ library?
It lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 277 programs that drew 4,995 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Lake Mills’ civic life grade?
A Lake Mills is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #22 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 Lake Mills.
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.