Photo: Dsdugan · Public domainOrofino’s library is a branch of Clearwater District, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Orofino’s library is the Clearwater Memorial Public Library, a branch of Clearwater District, which serves 8,318 people and lent 11K items last year.
What Orofino’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, the Clearwater District system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 91% 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; Orofino’s library is a branch of Clearwater District, so they cover the whole system (8,318 people), not just the Orofino branch.
What’s behind Orofino’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Orofino is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #19 of 54 in Idaho. Orofino is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Orofino
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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.
9.3%
9.3% of Orofino’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 Orofino’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Clearwater District serves 8,318 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Clearwater District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
489 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Clearwater Memorial Public Library, 402 Michigan Ave, Orofino.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Clearwater District branch.
New in Orofino? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Orofino cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $522K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $196K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $522K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 773 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Clearwater Memorial Public Library is one branch of Clearwater District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,318 people it serves.
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 Orofino
Does Orofino have a public library?
Yes: Clearwater Memorial Public Library, 402 Michigan Ave, is a branch of Clearwater District, which serves 8,318 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Clearwater District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Orofino’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Orofino’s civic life grade?
A− Orofino is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #19 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 Orofino.
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.