Photo: Justin Morgan · CC BY-SA 2.0Wasilla’s library runs 4.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Wasilla Public Library serves Wasilla’s 51,796 residents. Last year it lent 304K books, movies and e-books and logged 108K visits.
Wasilla’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 242 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 70% of similar-size libraries. 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 Wasilla’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Wasilla is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 17 in Alaska. Wasilla is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Wasilla near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
88 community nonprofits are registered in Wasilla
9.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (36 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
15.0%
15.0% of Wasilla’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 Wasilla’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Wasilla Public Library serves 51,796 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 152 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
304K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 77K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.1 times last year, on average.
63,796 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Wasilla last year.
Find it
Wasilla Public Library, 500 N Crusey Street, Wasilla.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wasilla? 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 $2.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wasilla cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 15,484 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasilla | Wasilla Public Library | 5.9 | 39 | A+ |
| South Lakes | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Meadow Lakes | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Knik-Fairview | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Tanaina | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| North Lakes | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Gateway | 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 Wasilla
Does Wasilla have a public library?
Yes. Wasilla Public Library, 500 N Crusey Street, serves Wasilla’s 51,796 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wasilla 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 Wasilla’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 5.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Wasilla’s civic life grade?
A+ Wasilla is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Wasilla.
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.