Photo: The original uploader was Sulfur at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0St. Francis’ library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
St. Francis Public Library serves St. Francis’s 9,036 residents. Last year it lent 116K books, movies and e-books and logged 61K visits.
What St. Francis’s library is like
St. Francis ranks 2nd in Wisconsin for kids’ borrowing
Out of 30 Wisconsin towns with a library of their own, St. Francis comes 2nd for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
St. Francis uses its library more than almost any town its size
St. Francis Public Library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 85% 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 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 44 items per child in St. Francis last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 St. Francis’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Francis is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #82 of 358 in Wisconsin. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; St. Francis’ 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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in St. Francis
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.1%
14.1% of St. Francis’ 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 St. Francis’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
St. Francis Public Library serves 9,036 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
116K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
20,293 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 St. Francis last year.
Find it
St. Francis Public Library, 4230 S. Nicholson Ave., St. Francis.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in St. Francis? 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 $2.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Francis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $678K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $678K 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 2,754 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
St. Francis borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
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 St. Francis
Does St. Francis have a public library?
Yes. St. Francis Public Library, 4230 S. Nicholson Ave., serves St. Francis’ 9,036 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Francis 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 St. Francis’ library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 12.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is St. Francis’ civic life grade?
A− St. Francis is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #82 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 St. Francis.
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.