Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Bend’s library is a branch of Deschutes Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 74% of systems its size
Bend’s library is the Downtown Bend Library, a branch of Deschutes Public Library District, which serves 212,141 people and lent 1.2M items last year.
The short version on Bend’s library
The branch is a National Register landmark
Deschutes County Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1993. Today’s library there has 39,700 square feet. The buildings ↓
Open about 69 hours a week
The Bend branch is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
A well-funded system
The Deschutes Public Library District system spends $73 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. 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; Bend’s library is a branch of Deschutes Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (212,141 people), not just the Bend branch.
What’s behind Bend’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bend is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #65 of 106 in Oregon. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #43. Bend is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bend’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
539 community nonprofits are registered in Bend
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (99 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 18 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Bend’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 Bend’s residents live; 2022.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.18 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bend cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $15M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $18M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15M 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 83,843 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Deschutes Public Library District serves 212,141 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 77 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Deschutes Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.2M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
About 13 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.
A National Register landmark since 1993
Downtown Bend Library, 601 NW Wall St., Bend.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Deschutes Public Library District branch.
New in Bend? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Deschutes County Library
Deschutes County Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 23, 1993. It is significant for its town planning at the local level. Its architecture is described as Arts and Crafts. It was listed as part of Historic Development of the Bend Company in Bend, Oregon MPS.
The Deschutes Public Library is a library system that serves Deschutes County, Oregon.
More about the building →Other Deschutes Public Library District branches in Bend
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bend | Downtown Bend Library fine-free | — | 69 | B+ |
| Tetherow | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Deschutes River Woods | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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. Downtown Bend Library is one branch of Deschutes Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 212,141 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 Bend
Does Bend have a public library?
Yes: Downtown Bend Library, 601 NW Wall St., is a branch of Deschutes Public Library District, which serves 212,141 people. The branch is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Deschutes Public Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bend’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 5.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bend’s civic life grade?
B+ Bend is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #65 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 Bend.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.