Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0Lowell’s library runs 89 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Maggie Osgood Library serves Lowell’s 1,261 residents. Last year it lent 408 print books and media and logged 2,504 visits.
Lowell’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 112 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Maggie Osgood Library serves 1,261 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Maggie Osgood Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Oregon pays a big share
26% of the budget comes from the state, and 69% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Lowell’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Lowell is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns. Lowell’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($75K–$124K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Lowell
7.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.0%
6.0% of Lowell’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 Lowell’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Maggie Osgood Library serves 1,261 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Maggie Osgood Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
408 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 6,845 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time 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.
Find it
Maggie Osgood Library, 70 N Pioneer St., Lowell.
No late fees. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Lowell? 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 Lowell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $56K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $56K 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 399 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 Lowell
Does Lowell have a public library?
Yes. Maggie Osgood Library, 70 N Pioneer St., serves Lowell’s 1,261 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Maggie Osgood Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lowell’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 0.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Lowell’s civic life grade?
C+ Lowell is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Lowell.
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.