Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Salmon’s library logs 5.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Lemhi County District serves 8,265 people in and around Salmon. Last year it lent 50K books, movies and e-books and logged 48K visits.
Salmon’s library, in brief
Most programs are for young children
80% of the 287 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Lemhi County District serves 8,265 people in and around Salmon, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Salmon’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salmon is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #4 of 54 in Idaho. Salmon is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Salmon’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 →
55 community nonprofits are registered in Salmon
17.2 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.6%
8.6% of Salmon’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 Salmon’s residents live; 2022.
44% of borrowing is digital
50K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
21,678 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Lemhi County District serves 8,265 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lemhi County District system. The library’s own count.
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.
Find it
Lemhi County District, 300 Main St., Salmon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lemhi County District branch.
New in Salmon? 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 $2.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salmon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $374K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $896K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $374K 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 4,480 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lemhi County District serves 8,265 people in and around Salmon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Salmon.
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 Salmon
Does Salmon have a public library?
Yes. Lemhi County District, 300 Main St., serves 8,265 people in and around Salmon (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lemhi 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 Salmon’s library?
It logged 5.8 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Salmon’s civic life grade?
A Salmon is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Salmon.
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.