Photo: User:Yuehai1981 · CC BY 4.0Klamath Falls’ library runs 46 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Klamath County Library Service District serves 71,919 people in and around Klamath Falls. Last year it lent 394K print books and media and logged 230K visits.
What Klamath Falls’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Klamath County Library Service District ran 3,303 programs last year, about 64 a week. That’s 46 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 3,303 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 18 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Klamath County Library Service District serves 71,919 people in and around Klamath Falls, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Klamath Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Klamath Falls is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #26 of 106 in Oregon. Klamath Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Klamath Falls’ 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 →
177 community nonprofits are registered in Klamath Falls
8.0 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 (28 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of Klamath Falls’ 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 Klamath Falls’ residents live; 2022.
About 43 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 all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Klamath County Library Service District serves 71,919 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Klamath County Library Service District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
394K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Find it
Klamath County Library Service District, 126 S 3rd St., Klamath Falls.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Klamath County Library Service District branch.
New in Klamath Falls? 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 $2.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Klamath Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.3M 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 44,248 cardholders ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klamath Falls | Klamath County Library Service District fine-free | — | 54 | A |
| Altamont | South Suburban Branch Library fine-free | — | 49 | — 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Klamath County Library Service District serves 71,919 people in and around Klamath Falls, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Klamath Falls.
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 Klamath Falls
Does Klamath Falls have a public library?
Yes. Klamath County Library Service District, 126 S 3rd St., serves 71,919 people in and around Klamath Falls (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Klamath County Library Service District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Klamath Falls’ library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 5.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Klamath Falls’ civic life grade?
A Klamath Falls is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #26 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 Klamath Falls.
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.