Photo: Public domain · Public domainIdaho City’s library logs 2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Boise Basin District serves 4,342 people in and around Idaho City. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,617 visits.
What stands out about Boise Basin District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Idaho City’s civic life grade
Idaho City 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Boise Basin District serves 4,342 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Boise Basin District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,638 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Boise Basin District, 123 Montgomery St., Idaho City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Boise Basin District branch.
New in Idaho City? 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 $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Idaho City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $298K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $388K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $298K 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 2,203 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Boise Basin District serves 4,342 people in and around Idaho City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Idaho City.
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 Idaho City
Does Idaho City have a public library?
Yes. Boise Basin District, 123 Montgomery St., serves 4,342 people in and around Idaho City (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Boise Basin 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 Idaho City’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 5.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Idaho City’s civic life grade?
Idaho City 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 Idaho 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.