Photo: MIM1765 · CC BY-SA 4.0Hermiston’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Hermiston Public Library serves Hermiston’s 28,359 residents. Last year it lent 50K print books and media and logged 37K visits.
What’s behind Hermiston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hermiston is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #84 of 106 in Oregon. Hermiston is graded on two of the three inputs. Hermiston’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$84K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
92 community nonprofits are registered in Hermiston
4.7 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 (29 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.7%
5.7% of Hermiston’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 Hermiston’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Hermiston Public Library serves 28,359 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
50K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 times last year, on average.
About 2 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 Hermiston last year.
Find it
Hermiston Public Library, 235 E Gladys Ave, Hermiston.
Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hermiston? The Handbook →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 Hermiston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $891K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $789K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $891K 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 6,098 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 Hermiston
Does Hermiston have a public library?
Yes. Hermiston Public Library, 235 E Gladys Ave, serves Hermiston’s 28,359 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hermiston Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hermiston’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Hermiston’s civic life grade?
C+ Hermiston is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 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 Hermiston.
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.