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Sullivan Wisconsin Downtown Looking West US18Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0
Libraries near Sullivan

Sullivan has no public library of its own; the nearest is Powers Memorial Library in Palmyra, 6.6 miles away

Sullivan doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Powers Memorial Library in Palmyra, 6.6 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.

BCivic lifeAhead of 64% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
In brief

Getting a library card from Sullivan

Sullivan borrows from the libraries next door

Sullivan has no public library of its own, but two libraries are within 10 miles, the closest being Powers Memorial Library in Palmyra (6.6 miles). Many small-town libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead. Nearest libraries ↓

Sullivan isn’t the only town nearby without one

Ottawa, Jefferson and Palmyra don’t have a public library of their own either. Libraries next door ↓

The closest isn’t the one open longest

Powers Memorial Library is nearest, open about 47 hours a week. Jefferson Public Library, 10 miles away, is open about 57 hours a week, so it may be easier to fit in. Nearest libraries ↓

This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Distances are straight-line from the town center.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Sullivan’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sullivan is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Sullivan is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Sullivan’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Sullivan’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 64%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $64K–$107K (8,713)Ahead of 65%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Sullivan is small (2,318 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

7 community nonprofits are registered in Sullivan

3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.20 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation20.89 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.79 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.44 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.05 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.44 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

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.

Volunteering

10.1%

10.1% of Sullivan’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 Sullivan’s residents live; 2022.

Nearest libraries

The closest is 6.6 miles away

Closest first, measured from the center of Sullivan. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
OttawaNone of its own——A
JeffersonNone of its own——C−
PalmyraNone of its own——C−
ConcordNone of its own——B+
RomeNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
HebronNone of its own——D

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Sullivan

Does Sullivan have a public library?

No. The closest is Powers Memorial Library in Palmyra, 6.6 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.

What is Sullivan’s civic life grade?

B Sullivan is ahead of 64% 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 Sullivan.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.