Scenic Bridge · Photo: Kristi Hager, Photographer · Public domainPotomac’s library is a branch of Missoula Public Library, which lends more per resident than 62% of systems its size
Potomac’s library is the Potomac Branch Library (Missoula Co.), a branch of Missoula Public Library, which serves 117,922 people and lent 776K items last year.
What stands out about Potomac Branch Library (Missoula Co.)
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Potomac’s civic life grade
Potomac 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 →
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
Potomac Branch Library (Missoula Co.), 29750 Potomac Road, Potomac.
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 Potomac? 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 Potomac 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. Potomac Branch 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 Potomac
Does Potomac have a public library?
Yes: Potomac Branch Library (Missoula Co.), 29750 Potomac Road, is a branch of Missoula Public Library, which serves 117,922 people.
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 Potomac’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 Potomac’s civic life grade?
Potomac 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 Potomac.
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.