College Hill West Historic District (Additional Documentation) · Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0Corvallis’ library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library serves 89,514 people in and around Corvallis. Last year it lent 1.2M print books and media and logged 402K visits.
What Corvallis’s library is like
A system of heavy borrowers
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library spends $97 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) 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; Corvallis-Benton County Public Library serves 89,514 people in and around Corvallis, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Corvallis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Corvallis is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #14 of 106 in Oregon. Corvallis is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; 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 →
377 community nonprofits are registered in Corvallis
6.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (55 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 13 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.4%
12.4% of Corvallis’ 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 Corvallis’ residents live; 2022.
About 11 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.
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library serves 89,514 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Corvallis-Benton County Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Corvallis-Benton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. 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
1.2M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Find it
Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Corvallis-Benton County Public Library branch.
New in Corvallis? 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 $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Corvallis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.6M 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 40,279 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. 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.
- System-wide. Corvallis-Benton County Public Library serves 89,514 people in and around Corvallis, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Corvallis.
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 Corvallis
Does Corvallis have a public library?
Yes. Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave, serves 89,514 people in and around Corvallis (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Corvallis-Benton County Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Corvallis’ library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 13.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Corvallis’ civic life grade?
A+ Corvallis is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 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 Corvallis.
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.