Aberdeen’s library runs 52 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Aberdeen District serves 3,549 people in and around Aberdeen. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
What Aberdeen’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 184 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.9 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 51% of similar-size libraries. 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; Aberdeen District serves 3,549 people in and around Aberdeen, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Aberdeen’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Aberdeen is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns. Aberdeen is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Aberdeen’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($62K–$103K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Aberdeen
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.0%
4.0% of Aberdeen’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Idaho 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 Aberdeen’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Aberdeen District serves 3,549 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Aberdeen District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,660 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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
Aberdeen District, 76 E Central Ave, Aberdeen.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Aberdeen District branch.
New in Aberdeen? 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 $1.43 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Aberdeen cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $143K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $204K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $143K 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 1,181 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Aberdeen District serves 3,549 people in and around Aberdeen, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Aberdeen.
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 Aberdeen
Does Aberdeen have a public library?
Yes. Aberdeen District, 76 E Central Ave, serves 3,549 people in and around Aberdeen (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Aberdeen District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Aberdeen’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Aberdeen’s civic life grade?
D Aberdeen is ahead of 8% 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 Aberdeen.
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.