Photo: Jyoni Shuler · CC BY-SA 4.0Boise City’s library lends 6.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries its size
Boise Public serves 243,657 people in and around Boise City from 5 locations. Last year it lent 2.6M books, movies and e-books and logged 712K visits.
The short version on Boise City’s library
The shelves work hard
Each of the 363,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Five places to borrow in Boise City
Boise City’s library system runs five locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Boise City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Boise City is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #16 of 54 in Idaho. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #26. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
1,160 community nonprofits are registered in Boise City
4.9 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 (223 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 36 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
13.4%
13.4% of Boise City’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 Boise City’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2.6M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 363K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.6 times last year, on average.
970,800 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Boise Public serves 243,657 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 204 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 35 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.
5 places to borrow in Boise City
Boise Public, 715 S Capitol Blvd, Boise.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Boise City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Boise City
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Boise City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $18M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $18M 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 112,839 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Boise City ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle | Eagle Public fine-free | 19.8 | 63 | A− |
| Garden City | Garden City Public fine-free | 16.5 | 54 | A |
| Boise City | Boise Public fine-free | 10.8 | 54 | A− |
| Meridian | Meridian District fine-free | — | 62 | B− |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Boise City
Does Boise City have a public library?
Yes. Boise Public, 715 S Capitol Blvd, serves 243,657 people in and around Boise City (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boise Public 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 Boise City’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 10.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Boise City’s civic life grade?
A− Boise City is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #16 of 54 in Idaho. 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 Boise City.
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.