Photo: Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Eggert · Public domainKotzebue’s library logs 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Chukchi Consortium Library serves Kotzebue’s 2,953 residents. Last year it lent 695 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,371 visits.
The short version on Kotzebue’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Chukchi Consortium Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on seven. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Chukchi Consortium Library offered 2 programs last year, 0.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 16% of the people Chukchi Consortium Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Alaska pays a big share
22% of the budget comes from the state, and 78% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Chukchi Consortium Library spends $9 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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 Kotzebue’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kotzebue is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Kotzebue
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.1%
15.1% of Kotzebue’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 14.9% in the typical Alaska town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Kotzebue’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Chukchi Consortium Library serves 2,953 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Chukchi Consortium Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
695 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0 time last year, on average.
20 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 programs a year
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 Kotzebue last year.
Find it
Chukchi Consortium Library, 604 Third Street, Kotzebue.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kotzebue? 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 Kotzebue cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 468 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 Kotzebue
Does Kotzebue have a public library?
Yes. Chukchi Consortium Library, 604 Third Street, serves Kotzebue’s 2,953 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chukchi Consortium Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Kotzebue’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 0.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Kotzebue’s civic life grade?
B− Kotzebue is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Kotzebue.
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.