Photo: Daniel Schwen · CC BY-SA 4.0Silverton’s library runs 346 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Silverton Public Library serves Silverton’s 711 residents. Last year it lent 3,461 print books and media and logged 7,077 visits.
Silverton’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
852 cards for 711 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 ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Silverton Public Library ran 246 programs last year, about 5 a week. That’s 346 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
People come to Silverton Public Library a lot
Silverton Public Library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Silverton invests in its library
Silverton Public Library spends $161 per resident a year, about three times 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Silverton’s civic life grade
Silverton 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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Silverton Public Library serves 711 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.
Books and media off the shelf
3,461 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 Silverton’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card.
Find it
Silverton Public Library, 1117 Reese Street, Silverton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Silverton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Silverton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $115K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $62K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $115K 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 852 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Silverton
Does Silverton have a public library?
Yes. Silverton Public Library, 1117 Reese Street, serves Silverton’s 711 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Silverton 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 Silverton’s library?
It logged 10.0 visits and lent 4.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Silverton’s civic life grade?
Silverton 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 Silverton.
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.