Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown · Public domainBethel’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Kuskokwim Consortium Library serves Bethel’s 6,152 residents. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
Bethel’s library, in brief
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 70% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 16%. A year at the library ↓
Federal money pays a real share
20% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Kuskokwim Consortium Library holds 39,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Bethel’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Bethel is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #14 of 17 in Alaska. Bethel is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Bethel
4.0 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Kuskokwim Consortium Library serves 6,152 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
2,510 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bethel last year.
Find it
Kuskokwim Consortium Library, 420 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, Bethel.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bethel? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethel cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $311K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $226K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $311K 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 2,557 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Bethel
Does Bethel have a public library?
Yes. Kuskokwim Consortium Library, 420 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, serves Bethel’s 6,152 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kuskokwim Consortium 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 Bethel’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bethel’s civic life grade?
B+ Bethel is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 of 17 in Alaska. 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 Bethel.
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.