Photo: Katie Brady from Missoula, Montana, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Bigfork’s library is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size
Bigfork’s library is the Flathead County Library Bigfork, a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, which serves 96,606 people and lent 369K items last year.
The short version on Bigfork’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Flathead County Library Kalispell system offered 322 programs last year, 3.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 322 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.1 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; Bigfork’s library is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, so they cover the whole system (96,606 people), not just the Bigfork branch.
What’s behind Bigfork’s civic life grade
Bigfork isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Bigfork
Bigfork is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
7.9%
7.9% of Bigfork’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.0% in the typical Montana 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 Bigfork’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Flathead County Library Kalispell serves 96,606 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Flathead County Library Kalispell system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
369K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Flathead County Library Bigfork, 186 Bridge St., Bigfork.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Flathead County Library Kalispell branch.
New in Bigfork? 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 $2.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bigfork cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 37,669 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Flathead County Library Bigfork is one branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 96,606 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 Bigfork
Does Bigfork have a public library?
Yes: Flathead County Library Bigfork, 186 Bridge St., is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, which serves 96,606 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Flathead County Library Kalispell 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 Bigfork’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bigfork’s civic life grade?
Bigfork isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bigfork.
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.