Moscow Downtown Historic District · Photo: Candy29c · CC BY-SA 3.0Moscow’s library runs 9.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Latah County District serves 41,271 people in and around Moscow. Last year it lent 250K books, movies and e-books and logged 97K visits.
The short version on Moscow’s library
The branch is a National Register landmark
Moscow Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. Today’s library there has 10,200 square feet. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 401 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Latah County District serves 41,271 people in and around Moscow, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Moscow’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Moscow is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #6 of 54 in Idaho. Moscow is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Moscow’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 →
182 community nonprofits are registered in Moscow
6.9 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 (29 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.4%
9.4% of Moscow’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 Moscow’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1979
Latah County District, 110 S Jefferson St., Moscow.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Latah County District branch.
New in Moscow? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Moscow Carnegie Library
Moscow Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 18, 1979. It is significant for its architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Spanish Mission Style.
The Moscow Carnegie Library is a historic building in Moscow, Idaho. It was built as a Carnegie library in 1905, and the front steps were built in the 1930s. It was designed by architect Watson Vernon in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since June 18, 1979.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Latah County District serves 41,271 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Latah County District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
250K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
73,717 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Moscow cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 16,904 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Latah County District serves 41,271 people in and around Moscow, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Moscow.
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 Moscow
Does Moscow have a public library?
Yes. Latah County District, 110 S Jefferson St., serves 41,271 people in and around Moscow (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Latah County 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 Moscow’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Moscow’s civic life grade?
A Moscow is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 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 Moscow.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.