Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Nekoosa’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Charles & Joann Lester Library serves Nekoosa’s 4,534 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 57K visits.
Nekoosa’s library, in brief
People come to Charles & Joann Lester Library a lot
Charles & Joann Lester Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 143 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 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 Nekoosa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Nekoosa is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Nekoosa is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Nekoosa’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$58K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Nekoosa
3.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of Nekoosa’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 Nekoosa’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Charles & Joann Lester Library serves 4,534 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
3,507 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 Nekoosa last year.
Find it
Charles & Joann Lester Library, 100 Park St., Nekoosa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Nekoosa? 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 $1.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nekoosa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $284K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $433K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $284K 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 1,623 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nekoosa | Charles & Joann Lester Library fine-free | 5.9 | 47 | C+ |
| Saratoga | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Port Edwards | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Port Edwards | None of its own | — | — | B |
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 Nekoosa
Does Nekoosa have a public library?
Yes. Charles & Joann Lester Library, 100 Park St., serves Nekoosa’s 4,534 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charles & Joann Lester 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 Nekoosa’s library?
It logged 12.5 visits and lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Nekoosa’s civic life grade?
C+ Nekoosa is ahead of 38% 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 Nekoosa.
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.