Photo: Sociotard · CC BY 3.0Shelley’s library is a branch of North Bingham County District, which lends more per resident than 74% of systems its size
Shelley’s library is the North Bingham District, a branch of North Bingham County District, which serves 14,377 people and lent 107K items last year.
The short version on Shelley’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 65% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 327 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4.1 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; Shelley’s library is a branch of North Bingham County District, so they cover the whole system (14,377 people), not just the Shelley branch.
What’s behind Shelley’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Shelley is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns. Shelley is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$97K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Shelley
1.8 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.4%
5.4% of Shelley’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 Shelley’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Bingham County District serves 14,377 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 46 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole North Bingham County District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
107K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
16,049 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
North Bingham District, 197 W Locust St., Shelley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every North Bingham County District branch.
New in Shelley? 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 $3.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $431K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $431K 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 7,268 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. North Bingham District is one branch of North Bingham County District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 14,377 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 Shelley
Does Shelley have a public library?
Yes: North Bingham District, 197 W Locust St., is a branch of North Bingham County District, which serves 14,377 people. The branch is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Bingham 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 Shelley’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 7.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Shelley’s civic life grade?
D Shelley is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Shelley.
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.