Photo: Finetooth · CC BY-SA 3.0McDermitt’s library is a branch of Humboldt County Library, which lends less per resident than 58% of systems its size
McDermitt’s library is the Mcdermitt Branch Library, a branch of Humboldt County Library, which serves 17,696 people and lent 69K items last year.
What McDermitt’s library is like
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Humboldt County Library system ran 1,033 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 58 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 18,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 53% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; McDermitt’s library is a branch of Humboldt County Library, so they cover the whole system (17,696 people), not just the McDermitt branch.
What’s behind McDermitt’s civic life grade
McDermitt 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 →
About 9 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Humboldt County Library serves 17,696 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Humboldt County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
69K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,219 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mcdermitt Branch Library, 135 Oregon Rd, Mcdermitt.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Humboldt County Library branch.
New in McDermitt? 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 $1.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McDermitt cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 7,101 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mcdermitt Branch Library is one branch of Humboldt County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 17,696 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 McDermitt
Does McDermitt have a public library?
Yes: Mcdermitt Branch Library, 135 Oregon Rd, is a branch of Humboldt County Library, which serves 17,696 people. The branch is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Humboldt County Library 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 McDermitt’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is McDermitt’s civic life grade?
McDermitt 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 McDermitt.
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.