Photo: Frank K. from Anchorage, Alaska, USA · CC BY 2.0Talkeetna’s library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Talkeetna Public Library serves Talkeetna’s 12,918 residents. Last year it lent 39K books, movies and e-books and logged 35K visits.
The short version on Talkeetna’s library
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 581 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
45% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 45% of loans. Print still makes up 55%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Talkeetna Public Library holds 38,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Talkeetna’s civic life grade
Talkeetna 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 →
45% of borrowing is digital
39K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 38K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
17,845 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Talkeetna Public Library serves 12,918 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 8 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 Talkeetna last year.
Find it
Talkeetna Public Library, 24645 South Talkeetna Spur Road, Talkeetna.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Talkeetna? 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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Talkeetna cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $369K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $657K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $369K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 6,275 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talkeetna | Talkeetna Public Library | 3.0 | 40 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Chase | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Susitna North | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- 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 Talkeetna
Does Talkeetna have a public library?
Yes. Talkeetna Public Library, 24645 South Talkeetna Spur Road, serves Talkeetna’s 12,918 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Talkeetna Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Talkeetna’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Talkeetna’s civic life grade?
Talkeetna 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 Talkeetna.
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.