Photo: Alaska DOT&PF · CC BY 2.0Galena’s library runs 796 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Charles Evans Community/School Library serves Galena’s 452 residents. Last year it lent 6,060 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,647 visits.
What Galena’s library is like
More library cards than residents
569 cards for 452 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 ↓
13 times the programs of a typical library its size
Charles Evans Community/School Library ran 360 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 796 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 2,641 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
Charles Evans Community/School Library keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Federal money pays a real share
26% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 55% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Charles Evans Community/School Library serves 452 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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 Galena’s civic life grade
Galena 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 →
About 5 kids’ programs 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 Galena last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Charles Evans Community/School Library serves 452 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
6,060 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,852 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Find it
Charles Evans Community/School Library, 299 Antoski Road, Galena.
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 $3.45 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Galena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $117K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 569 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 Galena
Does Galena have a public library?
Yes. Charles Evans Community/School Library, 299 Antoski Road, serves Galena’s 452 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Charles Evans Community/School Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Galena’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 13.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Galena’s civic life grade?
Galena 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 Galena.
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.