Photo: Sam Beebe Camera location45° 08′ 14.4″ N, 123° 13′ 52.2″ W View this and other nearby images on: OpenStreetMap 45.137333; -123.231167 · CC BY 2.0Amity’s library runs 1.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Amity Public Library serves Amity’s 3,663 residents. Last year it lent 9,056 print books and media and logged 2,646 visits.
What Amity’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Amity Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Amity Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 1.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Amity Public Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Amity Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Amity Public Library spends $6 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Amity’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Amity is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Amity is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Amity’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Amity
3.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Amity’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical Oregon 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 Amity’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Amity Public Library serves 3,663 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
9,056 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
5 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Amity last year.
Find it
Amity Public Library, 307 S Trade St., Amity.
Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Amity? 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 $7.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Amity cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $21K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $147K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21K 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 695 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.
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 Amity
Does Amity have a public library?
Yes. Amity Public Library, 307 S Trade St., serves Amity’s 3,663 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Amity Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Amity’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Amity’s civic life grade?
B Amity is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Amity.
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.