Whale Pass’ library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Whale Pass Public Library serves Whale Pass’s 91 residents. Last year it lent 946 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,067 visits.
What Whale Pass’s library is like
More library cards than residents
149 cards for 91 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Open only about 10 hours a week
Whale Pass Public Library keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Whale Pass Public Library serves 91 residents with about one full-time staff. 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 ↓
People come to Whale Pass Public Library a lot
Whale Pass Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%, much of it kids’ books. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Whale Pass’ civic life grade
Whale Pass 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Whale Pass Public Library serves 91 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
43% of borrowing is digital
946 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 444 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
409 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
11 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.
Find it
Whale Pass Community Library, Beach Road Lot 3 Block 14, Whale Pass.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Whale Pass? 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 $1.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Whale Pass cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $9,376.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $16K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9,376 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 149 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Whale Pass
Does Whale Pass have a public library?
Yes. Whale Pass Public Library, Beach Road Lot 3 Block 14, serves Whale Pass’ 91 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Whale Pass 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 Whale Pass’ library?
It logged 11.7 visits and lent 10.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Whale Pass’ civic life grade?
Whale Pass 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 Whale Pass.
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.