APPOMATTOX (Shipwreck) · Public domainShorewood’s library lends 19 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Shorewood Public Library serves Shorewood’s 13,701 residents. Last year it lent 313K books, movies and e-books and logged 138K visits.
What Shorewood’s library is like
Shorewood ranks 2nd in Wisconsin for borrowing
Out of 30 Wisconsin towns with a library of their own, Shorewood comes 2nd for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #3 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Shorewood uses its library more than almost any town its size
Shorewood Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 19 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 42% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 42 items per child in Shorewood last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 16% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Shorewood’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shorewood is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #127 of 358 in Wisconsin. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Shorewood’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Shorewood
1.3 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
15.1%
15.1% of Shorewood’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 Shorewood’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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 Shorewood last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Shorewood Public Library serves 13,701 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 101 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
313K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 96K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
49,077 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Shorewood Public Library, 3920 N. Murray Ave., Shorewood.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shorewood? 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 $4.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shorewood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $984K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $984K 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 6,726 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shorewood ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitefish Bay | Whitefish Bay Public Library | 24.8 | 62 | A+ |
| Shorewood | Shorewood Public Library fine-free | 22.9 | 60 | A− |
| Milwaukee | Milwaukee Public Library | 2.8 | 56 | 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 Shorewood
Does Shorewood have a public library?
Yes. Shorewood Public Library, 3920 N. Murray Ave., serves Shorewood’s 13,701 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Shorewood 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 Shorewood’s library?
It logged 10.1 visits and lent 22.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Shorewood’s civic life grade?
A− Shorewood is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on civic life, #127 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 Shorewood.
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.