Photo: DougMiller65 · CC BY-SA 4.0Coos Bay’s library lends 7.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Coos Bay Public Library serves Coos Bay’s 29,607 residents. Last year it lent 228K print books and media and logged 112K visits.
Coos Bay’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Coos Bay Public Library is above the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, with three in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Coos Bay Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. Today’s library there has 25,872 square feet. The building ↓
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 Coos Bay’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Coos Bay is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #25 of 106 in Oregon. Coos Bay is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Coos Bay’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 →
152 community nonprofits are registered in Coos Bay
9.6 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 (31 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.4%
8.4% of Coos Bay’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 Coos Bay’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
228K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 111K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Coos Bay Public Library serves 29,607 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 87 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
About 4 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 Coos Bay last year.
A National Register landmark since 1986
Coos Bay Public Library, 525 Anderson Ave, Coos Bay.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Coos Bay? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Coos Bay Carnegie Library
Coos Bay Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Feb 27, 1986. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Coos Bay resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 29,607 people it serves ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coos Bay | Coos Bay Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 51 | A |
| North Bend | North Bend Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 41 | A− |
| Bunker Hill | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 Coos Bay
Does Coos Bay have a public library?
Yes. Coos Bay Public Library, 525 Anderson Ave, serves Coos Bay’s 29,607 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coos Bay Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Coos Bay’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 7.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Coos Bay’s civic life grade?
A Coos Bay is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #25 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 Coos Bay.
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.