L.I. Roe House · Photo: Jeff the quiet · CC0Stanley’s library lends 5.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
D.R. Moon Memorial Library serves Stanley’s 6,602 residents. Last year it lent 44K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
Stanley’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 71% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 75%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
D. R. Moon Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Today’s library there has 3,234 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 Stanley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Stanley is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #53 of 358 in Wisconsin. Stanley is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Stanley’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 →
21 community nonprofits are registered in Stanley
5.6 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.5%
9.5% of Stanley’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 Stanley’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1985
D.R. Moon Memorial Library, 154 4th Ave., Stanley.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Stanley? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
D. R. Moon Memorial Library
Moon, D. R., Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 2, 1985. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Neoclassical.
D. R. Moon Memorial Library is a small public library donated in 1901 by the family of a lumber baron to the community of Stanley, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
D.R. Moon Memorial Library serves 6,602 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
44K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
5,728 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 Stanley last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stanley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $177K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $663K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $177K 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 1,305 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.
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 Stanley
Does Stanley have a public library?
Yes. D.R. Moon Memorial Library, 154 4th Ave., serves Stanley’s 6,602 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is D.R. Moon Memorial 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 Stanley’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Stanley’s civic life grade?
A Stanley is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 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 Stanley.
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.