Shell Lake’s library logs 7.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Shell Lake Public Library serves Shell Lake’s 3,347 residents. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 24K visits.
What stands out about Shell Lake’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Shell Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shell Lake is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Shell Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Shell Lake’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Shell Lake
8.5 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.2%
9.2% of Shell Lake’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 Shell Lake’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Shell Lake Public Library serves 3,347 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
8,623 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 Shell Lake last year.
Find it
Shell Lake Public Library, 501 1st St., Shell Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shell Lake? 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 $2.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shell Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $182K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $502K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $182K 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 1,659 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shell Lake | Shell Lake Public Library fine-free | 8.8 | 49 | A |
| Bashaw | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Barronett | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Beaver Brook | 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 Shell Lake
Does Shell Lake have a public library?
Yes. Shell Lake Public Library, 501 1st St., serves Shell Lake’s 3,347 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shell Lake 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 Shell Lake’s library?
It logged 7.1 visits and lent 8.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Shell Lake’s civic life grade?
A Shell Lake is ahead of 92% 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 Shell Lake.
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.