Photo: Demi~commonswiki · CC BY-SA 3.0Ashland’s library is a branch of Jackson County Library Services, which lends more per resident than 76% of systems its size
Ashland’s library is the Ashland Branch Library, a branch of Jackson County Library Services, which serves 222,762 people and lent 1.3M items last year.
What stands out about Ashland Branch Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Ashland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ashland is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 106 in Oregon. Ashland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Ashland near the top nationally; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
213 community nonprofits are registered in Ashland
10.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (44 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
20.4%
20.4% of Ashland’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 Ashland’s residents live; 2022.
About 57 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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Jackson County Library Services serves 222,762 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jackson County Library Services system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.3M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Find it
Ashland Branch Library, 410 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jackson County Library Services branch.
New in Ashland? 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 $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ashland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $16M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $16M 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 105,824 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.
- System-wide. Ashland Branch Library is one branch of Jackson County Library Services, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 222,762 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 Ashland
Does Ashland have a public library?
Yes: Ashland Branch Library, 410 Siskiyou Blvd, is a branch of Jackson County Library Services, which serves 222,762 people. The branch is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jackson County Library Services fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ashland’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 5.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Ashland’s civic life grade?
A+ Ashland is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 of 106 in Oregon. 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 Ashland.
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.