Interlaken’s library runs 331 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Interlaken Public Library serves Interlaken’s 595 residents. Last year it lent 7,736 books, movies and e-books and logged 5,259 visits.
The short version on Interlaken’s library
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Interlaken Public Library ran 197 programs last year, about 4 a week. That’s 331 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 3,090 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Interlaken uses its library more than almost any town its size
Interlaken Public Library logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Interlaken Public Library serves 595 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 27 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 ↓
Interlaken invests in its library
Interlaken Public Library spends $227 per resident a year, about four times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Interlaken Public Library logs about 79 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 5 public computers. That’s 48 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Interlaken’s civic life grade
Interlaken 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 2 kids’ programs a week
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Interlaken Public Library serves 595 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,736 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 8,588 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
1,355 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Interlaken Public Library, 8390 Main Street, Interlaken.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Interlaken? 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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Interlaken cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $135K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $237K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $135K 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 417 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Interlaken
Does Interlaken have a public library?
Yes. Interlaken Public Library, 8390 Main Street, serves Interlaken’s 595 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Interlaken 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 Interlaken’s library?
It logged 8.8 visits and lent 13.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Interlaken’s civic life grade?
Interlaken 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 Interlaken.
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.