Photo: Karthikc123 · CC BY-SA 3.0McCall’s library lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Mccall Public serves 4,053 people in and around McCall. Last year it lent 61K books, movies and e-books and logged 37K visits.
The short version on McCall’s library
More library cards than residents
6,337 cards for 4,053 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
McCall uses its library more than almost any town its size
Mccall Public logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 21% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
McCall invests in its library
Mccall Public spends $149 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (86%) 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.
What’s behind McCall’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, McCall is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 54 in Idaho. McCall is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put McCall near the top nationally; McCall’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
95 community nonprofits are registered in McCall
24.1 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
About 4 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mccall Public serves 4,053 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
61K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
12,636 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mccall Public, 218 E Park St., Mccall.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in McCall? 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 $1.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McCall cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $602K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $951K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $602K 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 6,337 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 McCall
Does McCall have a public library?
Yes. Mccall Public, 218 E Park St., serves 4,053 people in and around McCall (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mccall 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 McCall’s library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 15.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is McCall’s civic life grade?
A+ McCall is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 McCall.
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.