Photo: Travis K. Witt · CC BY-SA 4.0Paris’ library is a branch of Bear Lake County District, which lends more per resident than 55% of systems its size
Paris’s library is the Bear Lake County District - Paris, a branch of Bear Lake County District, which serves 6,765 people and lent 35K items last year.
What Paris’s library is like
Open only about 12 hours a week
The Paris branch keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Programs are almost all for children
87% of the 259 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 73% 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; Paris’s library is a branch of Bear Lake County District, so they cover the whole system (6,765 people), not just the Paris branch.
What’s behind Paris’ civic life grade
Paris 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 →
About 4 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bear Lake County District serves 6,765 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bear Lake County District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,593 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bear Lake County District - Paris, 62 S Main, Paris.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Bear Lake County District branch.
New in Paris? 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 $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paris cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $290K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $592K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $290K 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 5,086 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bear Lake County District - Paris is one branch of Bear Lake County District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 6,765 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 Paris
Does Paris have a public library?
Yes: Bear Lake County District - Paris, 62 S Main, is a branch of Bear Lake County District, which serves 6,765 people. The branch is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bear Lake County 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 Paris’ library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Paris’ civic life grade?
Paris 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 Paris.
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.