Chiniak’s library runs 1,236 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Chiniak Public Library serves Chiniak’s 55 residents. Last year it lent 1,372 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,020 visits.
What Chiniak’s library is like
More library cards than residents
105 cards for 55 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Alaska pays a big share
88% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Chiniak uses its library more than almost any town its size
Chiniak Public Library logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 23 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
21 times the programs of a typical library its size
Chiniak Public Library ran 68 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 1,236 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 711 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Chiniak’s civic life grade
Chiniak 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 →
68 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Chiniak Public Library serves 55 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,372 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,421 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
95 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Chiniak Public Library, 43318 Spruce Way, Chiniak.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chiniak? 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 $4.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chiniak cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $7,000.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $7,000 budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 105 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Chiniak’s 1,020 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Chiniak
Does Chiniak have a public library?
Yes. Chiniak Public Library, 43318 Spruce Way, serves Chiniak’s 55 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chiniak Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Chiniak’s library?
It logged 18.5 visits and lent 24.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Chiniak’s civic life grade?
Chiniak 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 Chiniak.
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.