North Fond du Lac’s library runs 24 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Spillman Public Library serves North Fond du Lac’s 7,018 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
What’s behind North Fond du Lac’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, North Fond du Lac is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #331 of 358 in Wisconsin. North Fond du Lac is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$79K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in North Fond du Lac
2.2 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.7%
6.7% of North Fond du Lac’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 North Fond du Lac’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Spillman Public Library serves 7,018 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
6,194 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 North Fond du Lac last year.
Find it
Spillman Public Library, 719 Wisconsin Ave., North Fond Du Lac.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Fond du Lac? 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 $2.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Fond du Lac cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $260K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $576K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $260K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,706 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fond du Lac | Fond Du Lac Public Library | 7.1 | 64 | C+ |
| North Fond du Lac | Spillman Public Library | 5.2 | 44 | C− |
| Friendship | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Fond du Lac | 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 North Fond du Lac
Does North Fond du Lac have a public library?
Yes. Spillman Public Library, 719 Wisconsin Ave., serves North Fond du Lac’s 7,018 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Spillman Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is North Fond du Lac’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is North Fond du Lac’s civic life grade?
C− North Fond du Lac is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #331 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 North Fond du Lac.
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.