Presentation to the Waukesha County Municipal Executives Committee
October 2004
Waukesha County Federated Library System Director Tom Hennen
Waukesha Public Library Director Jane Ameel

Table 1. Types of County Libraries and Wider Units in Wisconsin


Type Wisconsin Statute Examples and comments
1. A consolidated county library generally operates all library facilities in a county and may be a member of a multi-county federated library system. See footnote 1.
Section 43.57(1)
  • Adams, Brown, Door, Florence, Marathon, Marinette, and Portage have consolidated county libraries.
  • In Brown and Portage there are municipalities that exempt from the county levy and operate independent libraries. See footnote 1.
    • 2. Consolidated county library systems receive state funding to public library systems and would be the likely form for a county such as Waukesha that is large enough to become a single county consolidated system. See footnote 1.
    Section 43.21
  • There are no consolidated county systems in Wisconsin.
    • 3. A county library service is formed to serve county residents who do not live in a library municipality, or to improve municipal libraries in the county.
    Section 43.57(3)
  • La Crosse and Dane County run county library services. La Crosse provides library branches while Dane provides bookmobile services and reimburses libraries in the county for residents taxed by the county.
    • 4. Joint City-County Libraries may be established by a county and one or more municipalities located in the county. They are governed by a library board appointed by the participants in the joint library, representative of the populations of the participants. Further information on the web at: http://www.srlaaw.org/documents/JointLibrary.pdf Section 43.57(3)
  • Shawano and Rusk Counties have joint city-county library operations.
    • 5. Public library districts are independent districts with elected boards and taxing authority that encompass municipalities in a county or the entire county. The Wisconsin Library Association is planning to see a bill for this type of organization introduced in the 2005 session of the legislature. Further information on the web at: http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/legis/districts.htm LRB-0160/2
  • There are no library districts in Wisconsin, but Racine County, Rock County, Menominee, Greenfield, and Greendale are exploring the options.


    • 1 Library communities are allowed by law to qualify for exemption from the county library levy and remain independent if their governing body chooses. However, the county would not be required to compensate those libraries for use made of them by other library communities as it does at present.

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