Photo: Kingofthedead · Public domainBethany’s library is a branch of Cedar Mill Community Library, which lends more per resident than 99% of systems its size
Bethany’s library is the Bethany Branch, a branch of Cedar Mill Community Library, which serves 81,183 people and lent 1.8M items last year.
What Bethany’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 60% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Cedar Mill Community Library system logs 5.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 22 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 963 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 13 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Bethany’s library is a branch of Cedar Mill Community Library, so they cover the whole system (81,183 people), not just the Bethany branch.
What’s behind Bethany’s civic life grade
Bethany isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Cedar Mill Community Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Bethany
Bethany is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.6%
6.6% of Bethany’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 Bethany’s residents live; 2022.
About 14 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 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Cedar Mill Community Library serves 81,183 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 304 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cedar Mill Community Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.8M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Find it
Bethany Branch, 15325 NW Central Drive Ste J8, Portland.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Cedar Mill Community Library branch.
New in Bethany? 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 $4.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bethany cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.7M 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 53,779 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethany | Bethany Branch fine-free | — | 57 | — unincorporated |
| Cedar Mill | Cedar Mill Community Library fine-free | — | 57 | — unincorporated |
| Oak Hills | 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. Bethany Branch is one branch of Cedar Mill Community Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 81,183 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 Bethany
Does Bethany have a public library?
Yes: Bethany Branch, 15325 NW Central Drive Ste J8, is a branch of Cedar Mill Community Library, which serves 81,183 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Cedar Mill Community Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bethany’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 22.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bethany’s civic life grade?
Bethany isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Cedar Mill Community Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bethany.
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.