Chief Shakes Historic Site · Photo: James Crippen · CC BY 2.5Wrangell’s library logs 8.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Irene Ingle Public Library serves 2,039 people in and around Wrangell. Last year it lent 19K print books and media and logged 18K visits.
Wrangell’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
2,159 cards for 2,039 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 ↓
A well-funded system
Irene Ingle Public Library spends $117 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. 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; Irene Ingle Public Library serves 2,039 people in and around Wrangell, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Wrangell’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wrangell is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Wrangell’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Wrangell
13.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.7%
10.7% of Wrangell’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 Wrangell’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Irene Ingle Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Irene Ingle Public Library serves 2,039 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
19K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Wrangell’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
75 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Irene Ingle Public Library, 124 Second Street, Wrangell.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Irene Ingle Public Library branch.
New in Wrangell? 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 $1.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Wrangell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $238K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $354K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $238K 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 2,159 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. Irene Ingle Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Irene Ingle Public Library serves 2,039 people in and around Wrangell, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Wrangell.
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 Wrangell
Does Wrangell have a public library?
Yes. Irene Ingle Public Library, 124 Second Street, serves 2,039 people in and around Wrangell (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Irene Ingle 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 Wrangell’s library?
It logged 8.9 visits and lent 9.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Wrangell’s civic life grade?
A+ Wrangell is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Wrangell.
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.