Photo: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0Helix’s library runs 150 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Helix Public Library serves Helix’s 500 residents. Last year it lent 1,129 print books and media and logged 2,253 visits.
Helix’s library, in brief
Open only about 16 hours a week
Helix Public Library keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A small-town library
Helix Public Library serves 500 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 75 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 33 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
1,522 people came to the library’s 75 programs last year: 3 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Helix’s civic life grade
Helix isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 1 kids’ program 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 Helix last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Helix Public Library serves 500 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,129 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 6,662 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Helix Public Library, 119 Columbia St., Helix.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Helix cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $33K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $31K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33K 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 174 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
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 Helix
Does Helix have a public library?
Yes. Helix Public Library, 119 Columbia St., serves Helix’s 500 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Helix Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Helix’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Helix’s civic life grade?
Helix isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Helix.
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.