Somerset’s library lends 5.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Somerset Public Library serves Somerset’s 8,890 residents. Last year it lent 63K books, movies and e-books and logged 33K visits.
What stands out about Somerset’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Somerset’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Somerset is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #191 of 358 in Wisconsin. Somerset is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Somerset’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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Somerset
3.6 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Somerset’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 Somerset’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Somerset Public Library serves 8,890 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
63K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 19K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
13,419 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 Somerset last year.
Find it
Somerset Public Library, 208 Hud St., Somerset.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Somerset? 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 $2.97 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Somerset cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $320K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $952K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $320K 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 2,648 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Somerset
Does Somerset have a public library?
Yes. Somerset Public Library, 208 Hud St., serves Somerset’s 8,890 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Somerset 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 Somerset’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Somerset’s civic life grade?
B Somerset is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #191 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 Somerset.
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.