Photo: self · CC BY-SA 2.5Oshkosh’s library lends 5.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Oshkosh Public Library serves Oshkosh’s 82,004 residents. Last year it lent 633K books, movies and e-books and logged 237K visits.
What stands out about Oshkosh’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Oshkosh’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Oshkosh is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #195 of 358 in Wisconsin. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
245 community nonprofits are registered in Oshkosh
3.7 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 (67 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.8%
9.8% of Oshkosh’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 Oshkosh’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Oshkosh Public Library serves 82,004 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 194 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
633K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 251K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
158,237 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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 Oshkosh last year.
Find it
Oshkosh Public Library, 106 Washington Ave., Oshkosh.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Oshkosh? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Oshkosh cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $10M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.1M 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 25,308 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oshkosh | Oshkosh Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 63 | B |
| Black Wolf | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Nekimi | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Algoma | 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 Oshkosh
Does Oshkosh have a public library?
Yes. Oshkosh Public Library, 106 Washington Ave., serves Oshkosh’s 82,004 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Oshkosh 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 Oshkosh’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Oshkosh’s civic life grade?
B Oshkosh is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on civic life, #195 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 Oshkosh.
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.