Photo: Cityofprescott · CC BY-SA 3.0Prescott’s library logs 6.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Prescott Public Library serves Prescott’s 48,082 residents. Last year it lent 585K print books and media and logged 320K visits.
The short version on Prescott’s library
Prescott ranks 3rd in Arizona for kids’ borrowing
Out of 40 Arizona towns with a library of their own, Prescott comes 3rd for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Prescott uses its library more than almost any town its size
Prescott Public Library logs 6.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Prescott Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Today’s library there has 38,000 square feet. The buildings ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 130,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Prescott Public Library logs about 774 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 69 public computers. That’s 5.9 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.
What’s behind Prescott’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Prescott is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #9 of 68 in Arizona. Prescott’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
366 community nonprofits are registered in Prescott
7.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (106 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 9 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Prescott’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.0% in the typical Arizona 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 Prescott’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Prescott Public Library serves 48,082 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 191 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
585K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 130K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.5 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card.
About 9 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 Prescott last year.
A National Register landmark since 1975
Prescott Public Library, 215 E Goodwin St., Prescott.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Prescott? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Prescott Public Library
Prescott Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 28, 1975. It is significant for its architecture at the state level.
Prescott, Arizona, founded in 1864, soon had a children's library that was a collection of books gathered by several women. A Prescott Library Association opened a public reading room space in 1870. But there was no regularly funded library until the Carnegie library (a free public library) at 125 E. Gurley Street was built in 1903.
More about the building →Other libraries in Prescott
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Prescott cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 25,960 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prescott | Prescott Public Library fine-free | 12.2 | 59 | A− |
| Prescott Valley | Prescott Valley Public Library fine-free | 10.0 | 58 | C |
| Williamson | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Prescott
Does Prescott have a public library?
Yes. Prescott Public Library, 215 E Goodwin St., serves Prescott’s 48,082 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Prescott Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Prescott’s library?
It logged 6.7 visits and lent 12.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Prescott’s civic life grade?
A− Prescott is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 of 68 in Arizona. 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 Prescott.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.