McFarland House · Photo: James Steakley · CC BY-SA 3.0McFarland’s library logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
E.D. Locke Public Library serves McFarland’s 13,131 residents. Last year it lent 214K books, movies and e-books and logged 253K visits.
What McFarland’s library is like
McFarland uses its library more than almost any town its size
E.D. Locke Public Library logs 19 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 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 38 items per child in McFarland last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
24,000 people came to the library’s 562 programs last year: 1.8 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
E.D. Locke Public Library is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 63 items go out. The building ↓
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 McFarland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, McFarland is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #83 of 358 in Wisconsin. McFarland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; McFarland’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 →
61 community nonprofits are registered in McFarland
6.7 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 (5 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.
8.2%
8.2% of McFarland’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 McFarland’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 63 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
E.D. Locke Public Library serves 13,131 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
214K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 69K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
50,696 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 McFarland last year.
Find it
E.D. Locke Public Library, 5920 Milwaukee St., Mcfarland.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in McFarland? 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 $3.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McFarland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 7,434 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McFarland | E.D. Locke Public Library fine-free | 16.3 | 65 | A− |
| Madison | Madison Public Library fine-free | 10.3 | 68 | A− |
| Dunn | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Blooming Grove | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Cottage Grove | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Pleasant Springs | 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.
- Visits count everyone. McFarland’s 252,717 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 McFarland
Does McFarland have a public library?
Yes. E.D. Locke Public Library, 5920 Milwaukee St., serves McFarland’s 13,131 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is E.D. Locke 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 McFarland’s library?
It logged 19.2 visits and lent 16.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is McFarland’s civic life grade?
A− McFarland is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #83 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 McFarland.
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.