Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0West Salem’s library lends 5.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
West Salem Public Library serves West Salem’s 786 residents. Last year it lent 4,063 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,900 visits.
The short version on West Salem’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 23%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
West Salem Public Library serves 786 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 24 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
West Salem Public Library offered 8 programs last year, 10 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind West Salem’s civic life grade
West Salem 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
West Salem Public Library serves 786 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,063 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,104 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
8 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in West Salem last year.
Find it
West Salem Public Library, 112 West South Street, West Salem.
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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Salem cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $68K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 174 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. West Salem Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 West Salem
Does West Salem have a public library?
Yes. West Salem Public Library, 112 West South Street, serves West Salem’s 786 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Salem Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is West Salem’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is West Salem’s civic life grade?
West Salem 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 West Salem.
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.