Pottawatomie Lighthouse · Public domainWashington’s library is a branch of Door County Library, which lends more per resident than 80% of systems its size
Washington’s library is the Washington Island Branch, a branch of Door County Library, which serves 30,885 people and lent 319K items last year.
The short version on Washington’s library
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Door County Library system logs 7.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Washington branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 28% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Washington’s library is a branch of Door County Library, so they cover the whole system (30,885 people), not just the Washington branch.
What’s behind Washington’s civic life grade
Washington isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Door County Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Door County Library serves 30,885 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
319K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
90,581 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Washington Island Branch, 910 Main Rd., Washington Island.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Door County Library branch.
New in Washington? 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 $2.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.1M 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 22,482 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Washington Island Branch | — | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Liberty Grove | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Fairbanks Township | 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.
- System-wide. Washington Island Branch is one branch of Door County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 30,885 people it serves.
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 Washington
Does Washington have a public library?
Yes: Washington Island Branch, 910 Main Rd., is a branch of Door County Library, which serves 30,885 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Door County 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 Washington’s library?
It logged 7.5 visits and lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Washington’s civic life grade?
Washington isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Washington.
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.