Thorne Bay’s library logs 6.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Thorne Bay Public Library serves Thorne Bay’s 478 residents. Last year it lent 5,535 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,300 visits.
The short version on Thorne Bay’s library
Alaska pays a big share
90% of the budget comes from the state, and 10% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Thorne Bay Public Library spends $32 per resident, less than 79% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still busier than 79% of them. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Thorne Bay Public Library serves 478 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. 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 ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Thorne Bay Public Library logs about 16 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 4 public computers. That’s 12 sessions per resident a year. 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 Thorne Bay’s civic life grade
Thorne Bay 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,535 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
1,848 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Thorne Bay Public Library serves 478 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
35 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 Thorne Bay last year.
Find it
Thorne Bay Public Library, 120 Freeman Drive, Thorne Bay.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Thorne Bay? 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 $7.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thorne Bay cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $15K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $111K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15K 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 250 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Thorne Bay Public 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 Thorne Bay
Does Thorne Bay have a public library?
Yes. Thorne Bay Public Library, 120 Freeman Drive, serves Thorne Bay’s 478 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thorne Bay 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 Thorne Bay’s library?
It logged 6.9 visits and lent 11.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Thorne Bay’s civic life grade?
Thorne Bay 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 Thorne Bay.
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.