Tok’s library runs 6 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Tok Community Library serves Tok’s 1,329 residents. Last year it lent 2,792 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,786 visits.
Tok’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Tok Community Library serves 1,329 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 29 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 ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
37% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 0%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Tok Community Library offered 8 programs last year, 6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. Print still makes up 53%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Tok Community Library spends $14 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Tok’s civic life grade
Tok isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
47% of borrowing is digital
2,792 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,716 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
1,321 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Tok Community Library serves 1,329 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Tok last year.
Find it
Tok Community Library, Mile 1314 Alaska Highway, Tok.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Tok? 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 $2.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tok cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $18K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $51K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $18K 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 510 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tok | Tok Community Library fine-free | 2.1 | 29 | — unincorporated |
| Tanacross | 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.
- 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 Tok
Does Tok have a public library?
Yes. Tok Community Library, Mile 1314 Alaska Highway, serves Tok’s 1,329 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tok Community 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 Tok’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Tok’s civic life grade?
Tok isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Tok.
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.