Photo: MyName (Wusel007) · CC BY-SA 3.0Walden’s library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Jackson County Public Library serves 1,311 people in and around Walden. Last year it lent 4,507 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,572 visits.
What Walden’s library is like
More library cards than residents
2,146 cards for 1,311 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
Jackson County Public Library spends $109 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) 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; Jackson County Public Library serves 1,311 people in and around Walden, 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 Walden’s civic life grade
Walden 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Jackson County Public Library serves 1,311 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, for the whole Jackson County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,507 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
437 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
16 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
Jackson County Public Library, 412 4th Street, Walden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Jackson County Public Library branch.
New in Walden? 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 Walden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $142K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $81K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $142K 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 2,146 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jackson County Public Library serves 1,311 people in and around Walden, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Walden.
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 Walden
Does Walden have a public library?
Yes. Jackson County Public Library, 412 4th Street, serves 1,311 people in and around Walden (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jackson County 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 Walden’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 3.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Walden’s civic life grade?
Walden 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 Walden.
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.