Photo: Billertl · CC BY-SA 3.0Park Falls’ library lends 9.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Park Falls Public Library serves Park Falls’s 5,493 residents. Last year it lent 63K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
What Park Falls’s library is like
Park Falls uses its library more than almost any town its size
Park Falls Public Library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 46 items per child in Park Falls last year. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 125 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 58 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Park Falls invests in its library
Park Falls Public Library spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Park Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Park Falls is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Park Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Park Falls’ 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Park Falls
7.8 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Park Falls’ 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 Park Falls’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Park Falls Public Library serves 5,493 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
63K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
12,421 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Park Falls last year.
Find it
Park Falls Public Library, 121 N. Fourth Ave., Park Falls.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Park Falls? 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 $2.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Park Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $476K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $982K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $476K 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 2,081 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Falls | Park Falls Public Library | 11.5 | 51 | A |
| Eisenstein | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lake | 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 Park Falls
Does Park Falls have a public library?
Yes. Park Falls Public Library, 121 N. Fourth Ave., serves Park Falls’ 5,493 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Park Falls 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 Park Falls’ library?
It logged 7.7 visits and lent 11.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Park Falls’ civic life grade?
A Park Falls is ahead of 88% 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 Park Falls.
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.