Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0Manitowish Waters’ library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Frank B. Koller Memorial Library serves Manitowish Waters’s 960 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Manitowish Waters’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,112 cards for 960 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Manitowish Waters out-borrows every town next door
At 15 loans per resident, Manitowish Waters leads the four towns here. The closest is Boulder Junction, at 9.3. Libraries next door ↓
Manitowish Waters uses its library more than almost any town its size
Frank B. Koller Memorial Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Frank B. Koller Memorial Library ran 218 programs last year, about 4 a week. That’s 227 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,580 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
41% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 59%. What your card is worth ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Manitowish Waters’ civic life grade
Manitowish Waters isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
218 programs a year
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Frank B. Koller Memorial Library serves 960 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,932 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Frank B. Koller Memorial Library, 5761 Us Hwy. 51, Manitowish Waters.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Manitowish Waters? 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 $1.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manitowish Waters cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $174K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $267K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $174K 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 1,112 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Manitowish Waters borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitowish Waters | Frank B. Koller Memorial Library fine-free | 15.4 | 34 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Boulder Junction | Boulder Junction Public Library fine-free | 9.3 | 32 | — too few inputs |
| Mercer | Mercer Public Library fine-free | 7.1 | 47 | A |
| Winchester | Winchester Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 21 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lac du Flambeau | Ben Guthrie--Lac Du Flambeau Public Library fine-free | — | 41 | C |
| Sherman | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Manitowish Waters
Does Manitowish Waters have a public library?
Yes. Frank B. Koller Memorial Library, 5761 Us Hwy. 51, serves Manitowish Waters’ 960 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Frank B. Koller Memorial 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 Manitowish Waters’ library?
It logged 11.1 visits and lent 15.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Manitowish Waters’ civic life grade?
Manitowish Waters isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Manitowish Waters.
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.