Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0Molalla’s library lends 5.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Molalla Public Library serves Molalla’s 25,206 residents. Last year it lent 144K print books and media and logged 42K visits.
What Molalla’s library is like
Open about 73 hours a week
Molalla Public Library is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 221 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.7 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.
What’s behind Molalla’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Molalla is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #52 of 106 in Oregon. Molalla is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Molalla’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 →
52 community nonprofits are registered in Molalla
5.1 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 (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.
8.6%
8.6% of Molalla’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 Molalla’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Molalla Public Library serves 25,206 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
144K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
About 3 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 Molalla last year.
Find it
Molalla Public Library, 201 E 5th St., Molalla.
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 $2.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Molalla cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 6,171 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 Molalla
Does Molalla have a public library?
Yes. Molalla Public Library, 201 E 5th St., serves Molalla’s 25,206 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Molalla Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Molalla’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 5.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Molalla’s civic life grade?
A− Molalla is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #52 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 Molalla.
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.