Photo: The original uploader was CowboyWisdom at English Wikipedia. · Public domainNew London’s library lends 5.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
New London Public Library serves New London’s 11,281 residents. Last year it lent 84K books, movies and e-books and logged 44K visits.
What stands out about New London’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind New London’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New London is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #163 of 358 in Wisconsin. New London is graded on two of the three inputs. New London’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in New London
6.1 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of New London’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 London’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
New London Public Library serves 11,281 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
84K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
19,076 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 London last year.
Find it
New London Public Library, 406 S. Pearl St., New London.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New London? 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 $2.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New London cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $552K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $552K 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 5,375 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New London | New London Public Library fine-free | 7.5 | 57 | B+ |
| Mukwa | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Maple Creek | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hortonia | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Liberty | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lebanon | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 New London
Does New London have a public library?
Yes. New London Public Library, 406 S. Pearl St., serves New London’s 11,281 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New London 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 London’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is New London’s civic life grade?
B+ New London is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #163 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 London.
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.