Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Oconto’s library logs 1.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Farnsworth Public Library serves Oconto’s 12,657 residents. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
The short version on Oconto’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Farnsworth Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Farnsworth Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2017. Today’s library there has 11,000 square feet. 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 Oconto’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oconto is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #6 of 358 in Wisconsin. Oconto is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Oconto’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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Oconto
10.0 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.6%
11.6% of Oconto’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 Oconto’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2017
Farnsworth Public Library, 715 Main St., Oconto.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oconto? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Farnsworth Public Library
Farnsworth Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 21, 2017. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level. It was listed as part of Public Library Facilities of Wisconsin MPS.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Farnsworth Public Library serves 12,657 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
11,211 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 Oconto last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oconto cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $364K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $685K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $364K 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 2,767 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oconto | Farnsworth Public Library | 3.3 | 47 | A+ |
| Little River | 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.
- 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 Oconto
Does Oconto have a public library?
Yes. Farnsworth Public Library, 715 Main St., serves Oconto’s 12,657 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Farnsworth 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 Oconto’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Oconto’s civic life grade?
A+ Oconto is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 Oconto.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.