Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domainMetlakatla’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Centennial Library serves Metlakatla’s 1,446 residents. Last year it lent 124 books, movies and e-books and logged 624 visits.
Metlakatla’s library, in brief
Alaska pays a big share
100% of the budget comes from the state, and 0% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Most of Metlakatla’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 88% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Centennial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Centennial Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $27 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Centennial Library offered 3 programs last year, 2.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Centennial Library serves 1,446 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 Metlakatla’s civic life grade
On library visits and volunteering, Metlakatla is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. Metlakatla is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$90K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
Volunteering in Metlakatla
Metlakatla is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
14.3%
14.3% of Metlakatla’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 Metlakatla’s residents live; 2022.
88% of borrowing is digital
124 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
109 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Centennial Library serves 1,446 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Centennial Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
3 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.
Find it
Centennial Library, 4th & Milton Street, Metlakatla.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Metlakatla? 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 Metlakatla cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $40K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2,040 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $40K 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 532 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Centennial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Metlakatla
Does Metlakatla have a public library?
Yes. Centennial Library, 4th & Milton Street, serves Metlakatla’s 1,446 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Centennial 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 Metlakatla’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Metlakatla’s civic life grade?
C+ Metlakatla is ahead of 45% 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 Metlakatla.
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.