USS LCI-713 (Landing Craft) · Photo: Ian Poellet (User:Werewombat) · CC BY-SA 3.0Astoria’s library lends 6.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Astoria Public Library serves Astoria’s 10,167 residents. Last year it lent 65K print books and media and drew 4,613 people to its programs.
What stands out about Astoria’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Astoria’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Astoria is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 106 in Oregon. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Astoria is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Astoria near the top nationally; Astoria’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Astoria’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2020 figure, so it is left out.
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 →
145 community nonprofits are registered in Astoria
14.3 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 (20 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
15.7%
15.7% of Astoria’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 Astoria’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Astoria Public Library serves 10,167 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 32 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
65K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
About 3 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Astoria last year.
Find it
Astoria Public Library, 450 10th St., Astoria.
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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Astoria cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $658K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $658K 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 6,541 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Astoria Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2020 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- 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 Astoria
Does Astoria have a public library?
Yes. Astoria Public Library, 450 10th St., serves Astoria’s 10,167 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Astoria Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Astoria’s library?
It lent 6.4 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 235 programs that drew 4,613 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Astoria’s civic life grade?
A+ Astoria is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Astoria.
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.