Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Riggins’ library lends 20 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Salmon River Public serves 387 people in and around Riggins. Last year it lent 7,754 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,200 visits.
The short version on Riggins’s library
More library cards than residents
519 cards for 387 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Riggins uses its library more than almost any town its size
Salmon River Public logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 20 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Salmon River Public serves 387 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 40 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 30% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Salmon River Public serves more than Riggins
The library’s service area covers 387 people in and around Riggins, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Riggins’ civic life grade
Riggins 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 →
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,754 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 14K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Salmon River Public serves 387 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
12 programs a year
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.
Find it
Salmon River Public, 126 N Main St., Riggins.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Riggins? 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 $4.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Riggins cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $31K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $135K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $31K 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 519 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 Riggins
Does Riggins have a public library?
Yes. Salmon River Public, 126 N Main St., serves 387 people in and around Riggins (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Salmon River 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 Riggins’ library?
It logged 10.9 visits and lent 20.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Riggins’ civic life grade?
Riggins 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 Riggins.
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.