About Us

La Crosse County Library was officially established in 1923, although its roots date back even further. Our mission is to Inspire, Enrich and Educate while Serving the Community.

The library operates five locations in the following communities:

• Bangor
• Campbell
• Holmen
• Onalaska
• West Salem

Each County library location is housed in a building provided, furnished and maintained by the municipality in which it is located. The County is responsible for the books and other media contained in each library, the processing of the materials and the personnel to provide the services.

The Administrative Center is housed in the same facility as the Holmen Public Library.

La Crosse County Library Organizational Chart

La Crosse County Library Code of Conduct

Library Board

The Board of the La Crosse County Library is assigned legal responsibility for library policy. The Wisconsin State Statutes give responsibility for the administration and management of the System to the Library Director. Board members are appointed by the County Board Chairperson.

Regular monthly meetings are normally the second Monday of the month at 3:30pm at a designated Library location. To access our meeting agendas and minutes, click the link below and follow the instructions.

Meeting Agendas and Minutes

Instructions: 

  1. Click on link above
  2. Click 'Other Committees' in the gray navigation bar
  3. Click 'Library Board' from the list
  4. Click the year
  5. Select the PDF with the month of either the agenda or minutes you are searching for

Winding Rivers Library System

La Crosse County Library is a member of the Winding Rivers Library System (WRLS), which provides many services for regional libraries. WRLS vans pick up and deliver bins of materials from one library location to another, allowing us to receive and send requested items to 33 other libraries throughout WRLS. Through the WRLS Interlibrary Loans, we can fill your requests with books, etc., from libraries in other regions or states.

Library Card

A La Crosse County Library card allows a patron to borrow materials or use the public computers. For more information on obtaining a card, see our Frequently Asked Questions page. A card issued in any Winding Rivers Library will be honored in the La Crosse County Library System.

Just a few minutes of your time and a driver's license or other form of ID with your current address will allow us to issue you a card. Patrons from neighboring states may apply for a card for a fee.

Services

Computer/Internet 
Each of the La Crosse County facilities has multiple computers available for use with Internet access and a variety of MS Office products available to patrons. You will need to have your library card with you to log on to the public computers. Free wifi is also available at all locations.

Outgoing Fax Services are available at all our library locations at $2.00 per fax.

Copy/Printing/Scanning Services are available at all our library locations at 10 cents/page for black & white and 50 cents/page for color. Scan and email documents are 10 cents/page.

Group Tours and Visits
Contact the library location to set up a tour or group visit.

Radon Test Kits are available for sale for $10.00/kit. Test kits are sold in cooperation with the La Crosse County Health Department PDF 

Disc Cleaning Services available to the public for $2.00 per disc! Inquire at the checkout counter for more information.

Notary Services are available at the Onalaska Public Library; please call ahead to verify availability (608-781-9568).

Adaptive Equipment to assist those with hearing loss at our Onalaska and West Salem locations. Also adaptive equipment to assist those with vision impairments and dexterity control on our public computers in Holmen and Onalaska.

Exam Proctoring
The La Crosse County Library offers proctoring services to students upon request from both the student and the educational institution.  There is no fee charged for this service but it is limited right now due to COVID-19 restrictions. Please contact us to see what we can work out for you.

Proctoring can be done at any of the La Crosse County Library branches. Emailed exams, instructions, passwords, questions, scheduling an exam time, etc. can be sent be sent to any of the branches to insure that proctors receive the necessary information:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Advance notice of at least 2 days will help insure the availability of a proctor and that we can reserve a public access computer or study room if/as necessary. The proctor will endeavor to insure that the educational institution guidelines and instructions are followed, but it must be understood that the proctor is unable to maintain constant observation of the student during the entire exam, since library duties frequently require assisting library patrons away from the testing area.

Costs for scanning, emailing, faxing, or sending by U.S. mail will be paid by the student or educational institution.

How Your Library Tax Money Is Spent

The La Crosse County Library had an operating budget of $2,248,264 in the year 2022 with the La Crosse County library levy at $2,168,460. The balance of operating income came from a combination of our used book sales, fees and fines paid by patrons; cross county reimbursement; and revenue from copies and printing.

• $112,156 was spent on books, periodicals and newspapers.
• $36,293 was spent on audio books, DVDs and music CDs.
• $40,534 was spent on electronic downloadable materials.
  

2023 Use Statistics

• 407,569 physical items were checked out
• 60,099 physical items were loaned to Libraries other than La Crosse County Library locations
• 86,500 physical items were borrowed from other libraries
• 102,693 downloads were made from Overdrive and Hoopla by La Crosse County users
• 9,201 Reference questions were successfully answered
• 10,192 log-ins were completed on our public computers
• 282,522 utilized wireless access
• 17,151 people of all ages attended or participated in 962 programs