Three Lakes’ library lends 8.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library serves 2,945 people in and around Three Lakes. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 20K visits.
Three Lakes’s library, in brief
Three Lakes uses its library more than almost any town its size
Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library logs 6.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.7 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 ↓
Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library serves more than Three Lakes
The library’s service area covers 2,945 people in and around Three Lakes, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Three Lakes invests in its library
Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library spends $103 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (87%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Three Lakes’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Three Lakes is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns. Three Lakes is graded on two of the three inputs. Three Lakes’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 Three Lakes
12.0 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.6%
5.6% of Three Lakes’ 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 Three Lakes’ 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library serves 2,945 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
26K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library, 6961 W. School St., Three Lakes.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Three Lakes? 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 $1.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Three Lakes cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $304K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $436K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $304K 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 2,137 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.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Lakes | Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library | 8.7 | 49 | B |
| Sugar Camp | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
| Hiles | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Washington | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Piehl | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lincoln | None of its own | — | — | A− |
| Stella | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Three Lakes
Does Three Lakes have a public library?
Yes. Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library, 6961 W. School St., serves 2,945 people in and around Three Lakes (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Edward U. Demmer Memorial 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 Three Lakes’ library?
It logged 6.9 visits and lent 8.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Three Lakes’ civic life grade?
B Three Lakes is ahead of 65% 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 Three Lakes.
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.