Photo: Drown Soda · CC BY-SA 4.0La Grande’s library lends 6.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library serves La Grande’s 18,677 residents. Last year it lent 123K print books and media and logged 74K visits.
What stands out about La Grande’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind La Grande’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, La Grande is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #27 of 106 in Oregon. La Grande is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; La Grande’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 →
113 community nonprofits are registered in La Grande
8.6 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 (30 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.
8.5%
8.5% of La Grande’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 La Grande’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library serves 18,677 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 51 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
123K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 55K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
About 5 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 La Grande last year.
Find it
F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library, 2006 4th Street, La Grande.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in La Grande? 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 $2.42 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Grande cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $769K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $769K 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 5,064 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 La Grande
Does La Grande have a public library?
Yes. F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library, 2006 4th Street, serves La Grande’s 18,677 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is La Grande’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 6.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is La Grande’s civic life grade?
A La Grande is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 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 La Grande.
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.