Photo: Djembayz · CC BY-SA 3.0Frenchtown’s library is a branch of Missoula Public Library, which lends more per resident than 62% of systems its size
Frenchtown’s library is the Frenchtown School and Community Library (Missoula Co.), a branch of Missoula Public Library, which serves 117,922 people and lent 776K items last year.
The short version on Frenchtown’s library
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Missoula Public Library system logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Frenchtown branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Frenchtown’s library is a branch of Missoula Public Library, so they cover the whole system (117,922 people), not just the Frenchtown branch.
What’s behind Frenchtown’s civic life grade
Frenchtown 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 Missoula Public Library, 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 Frenchtown
Frenchtown is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
7.1%
7.1% of Frenchtown’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 Frenchtown’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 85 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Missoula Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Missoula Public Library serves 117,922 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
776K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
292,948 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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
Frenchtown School and Community Library (Missoula Co.), 17620 Frenchtown Frontage Rd, Frenchtown.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Missoula Public Library branch.
New in Frenchtown? 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 $2.93 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Frenchtown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.1M 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 51,083 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Frenchtown School and Community Library (Missoula Co.) is one branch of Missoula Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 117,922 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 Frenchtown
Does Frenchtown have a public library?
Yes: Frenchtown School and Community Library (Missoula Co.), 17620 Frenchtown Frontage Rd, is a branch of Missoula Public Library, which serves 117,922 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Missoula Public Library 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 Frenchtown’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Frenchtown’s civic life grade?
Frenchtown 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 Missoula Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Frenchtown.
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.