Photo: User Royalbroil on en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 2.5New Holstein’s library runs 15 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
New Holstein Public Library serves New Holstein’s 10,202 residents. Last year it lent 44K books, movies and e-books and drew 2,972 people to its programs.
The short version on New Holstein’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, New Holstein Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people New Holstein Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 157 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.4 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 New Holstein’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Holstein is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #18 of 358 in Wisconsin. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so New Holstein is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; New Holstein’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for New Holstein’s 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 New Holstein
10.7 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.7%
9.7% of New Holstein’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 New Holstein’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
New Holstein Public Library serves 10,202 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 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.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
44K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
5,935 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 New Holstein last year.
Find it
New Holstein Public Library, 2115 Washington St., New Holstein.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Holstein? 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 $2.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Holstein cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $270K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $682K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $270K 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 1,761 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. New Holstein 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 New Holstein
Does New Holstein have a public library?
Yes. New Holstein Public Library, 2115 Washington St., serves New Holstein’s 10,202 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Holstein 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 New Holstein’s library?
It lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 157 programs that drew 2,972 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is New Holstein’s civic life grade?
A+ New Holstein is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #18 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 New Holstein.
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.