Packwaukee’s library runs 30 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Packwaukee Public Library serves 1,643 people in and around Packwaukee. Last year it lent 7,291 print books and media and logged 4,823 visits.
The short version on Packwaukee’s library
A small-town library
Packwaukee Public Library serves 1,643 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 33 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people Packwaukee Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 54% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Packwaukee’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Packwaukee is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. Packwaukee is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Packwaukee
4.6 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.
13.3%
13.3% of Packwaukee’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 Packwaukee’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Packwaukee Public Library serves 1,643 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
7,291 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,557 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
49 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Packwaukee Public Library, N3511 State St., Packwaukee.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Packwaukee? 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 $2.64 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Packwaukee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $52K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $139K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $52K 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 250 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packwaukee | Packwaukee Public Library fine-free | 4.4 | 33 | A |
| Moundville | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Montello | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Harris | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Buffalo | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Oxford | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Shields | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Packwaukee
Does Packwaukee have a public library?
Yes. Packwaukee Public Library, N3511 State St., serves 1,643 people in and around Packwaukee (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Packwaukee 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 Packwaukee’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 4.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Packwaukee’s civic life grade?
A Packwaukee is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Packwaukee.
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.