Photo: Racine2020 · CC BY-SA 4.0Racine’s library runs 3.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Racine Public Library serves Racine’s 137,874 residents. Last year it lent 572K books, movies and e-books and logged 298K visits.
The short version on Racine’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Racine Public Library offered 523 programs last year, 3.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Racine Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981. Today’s library there has 65,000 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 Racine’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Racine is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #299 of 358 in Wisconsin. Racine is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Racine’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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 →
250 community nonprofits are registered in Racine
3.2 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 (94 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.5%
6.5% of Racine’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 Racine’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1981
Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St., Racine.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Racine? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Racine Public Library
Racine Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 20, 1981. It is significant for its architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Racine Public Library serves 137,874 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 124 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
572K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 189K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
133,603 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 Racine last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Racine cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.9M 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 33,529 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racine | Racine Public Library fine-free | 4.2 | 56 | C |
| Mount Pleasant | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Caledonia | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Elmwood Park | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| North Bay | 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.
- 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 Racine
Does Racine have a public library?
Yes. Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St., serves Racine’s 137,874 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Racine 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 Racine’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Racine’s civic life grade?
C Racine is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #299 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 Racine.
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.