Photo: Esprqii · CC BY-SA 3.0Lake Oswego’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Lake Oswego Public Library serves Lake Oswego’s 44,758 residents. Last year it lent 647K print books and media and logged 182K visits.
Lake Oswego’s library, in brief
Lake Oswego ranks 2nd in Oregon for borrowing
Out of 36 Oregon towns with a library of their own, Lake Oswego comes 2nd for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 29 items per child in Lake Oswego last year. Kids & programs ↓
Lake Oswego out-borrows every town next door
At 14 loans per resident, Lake Oswego leads the four towns here. The closest is West Linn, at 13. Libraries next door ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 161,000 items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Lake Oswego invests in its library
Lake Oswego Public Library spends $119 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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.
What’s behind Lake Oswego’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lake Oswego is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #45 of 106 in Oregon. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Lake Oswego’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 →
289 community nonprofits are registered in Lake Oswego
7.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 13 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.6%
8.6% of Lake Oswego’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 Lake Oswego’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lake Oswego Public Library serves 44,758 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 244 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
647K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 161K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average.
About 6 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 Lake Oswego last year.
Find it
Lake Oswego Public Library, 706 4th St., Lake Oswego.
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 $1.87 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lake Oswego cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.3M 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 23,805 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Lake Oswego borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Oswego | Lake Oswego Public Library | 14.5 | 51 | A− |
| West Linn | West Linn Public Library | 13.1 | 52 | A− |
| Tualatin | Tualatin Public Library fine-free | 11.9 | 63 | C |
| Oak Grove | Clackamas County - Oak Lodge Public Library | 4.9 | 39 | — unincorporated |
| Portland | Central Library fine-free | — | 54 | A |
| Stafford | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Rivergrove | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
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 Lake Oswego
Does Lake Oswego have a public library?
Yes. Lake Oswego Public Library, 706 4th St., serves Lake Oswego’s 44,758 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lake Oswego Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lake Oswego’s library?
It logged 4.1 visits and lent 14.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Lake Oswego’s civic life grade?
A− Lake Oswego is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #45 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 Lake Oswego.
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.