Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Hood River’s library lends 6.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hood River County Library District serves 24,406 people in and around Hood River. Last year it lent 158K print books and media and logged 40K visits.
Hood River’s library, in brief
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 75% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 76%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Hood River County Library and Georgiana Smith Park has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998. Today’s library there has 19,468 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; Hood River County Library District serves 24,406 people in and around Hood River, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hood River’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hood River is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #15 of 106 in Oregon. Hood River is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hood River’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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Hood River
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (11 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.
10.7%
10.7% of Hood River’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 Hood River’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1998
Hood River County Library District, 502 State St., Hood River.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hood River County Library District branch.
New in Hood River? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hood River County Library and Georgiana Smith Park
Hood River County Library and Georgiana Smith Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 29, 1998. It is significant for its social history and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Jacobethan.
The Hood River County Library and Georgiana Smith Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. It was a community effort to get the library built, with a woman's club leading, and eventually securing a $17,500 Carnegie grant. The library was built in 1913–14. The Georgiana Smith Park was completed in 1935.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hood River County Library District serves 24,406 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hood River County Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
158K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
About 3 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hood River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 10,972 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.
- System-wide. Hood River County Library District serves 24,406 people in and around Hood River, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hood River.
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 Hood River
Does Hood River have a public library?
Yes. Hood River County Library District, 502 State St., serves 24,406 people in and around Hood River (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hood River County Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hood River’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 6.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hood River’s civic life grade?
A Hood River is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 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 Hood River.
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.