Sheldon Jackson School · Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainSitka’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Sitka Public Library serves 8,231 people in and around Sitka. Last year it lent 83K books, movies and e-books and logged 93K visits.
What Sitka’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
Sitka Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 137 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Sitka Public Library spends $150 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% 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; Sitka Public Library serves 8,231 people in and around Sitka, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Sitka’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sitka is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 17 in Alaska. All three inputs put Sitka near the top nationally; Sitka’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
87 community nonprofits are registered in Sitka
10.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.9%
13.9% of Sitka’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 Sitka’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sitka Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sitka Public Library serves 8,231 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
83K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,229 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Sitka Public Library, 320 Harbor Drive, Sitka.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sitka Public Library branch.
New in Sitka? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sitka cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 4,860 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sitka | Sitka Public Library fine-free | — | 46 | A+ |
| Port Alexander | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sitka Public Library serves 8,231 people in and around Sitka, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sitka.
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 Sitka
Does Sitka have a public library?
Yes. Sitka Public Library, 320 Harbor Drive, serves 8,231 people in and around Sitka (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sitka 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 Sitka’s library?
It logged 11.3 visits and lent 10.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sitka’s civic life grade?
A+ Sitka is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Sitka.
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.