Photo: Brian Burger ("WireLizard") · CC BY 2.0North Bend’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
North Bend Public Library serves North Bend’s 14,947 residents. Last year it lent 107K print books and media and logged 81K visits.
What stands out about North Bend’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind North Bend’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, North Bend is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #41 of 106 in Oregon. North Bend is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; North Bend’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 →
72 community nonprofits are registered in North Bend
7.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of North Bend’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 North Bend’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Bend Public Library serves 14,947 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
107K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.6 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 North Bend last year.
Find it
North Bend Public Library, 1800 Sherman Ave, North Bend.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Bend? 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 $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Bend resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 14,947 people it serves ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coos Bay | Coos Bay Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 51 | A |
| North Bend | North Bend Public Library fine-free | 7.2 | 41 | A− |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- 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 North Bend
Does North Bend have a public library?
Yes. North Bend Public Library, 1800 Sherman Ave, serves North Bend’s 14,947 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Bend Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is North Bend’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 7.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Bend’s civic life grade?
A− North Bend is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on civic life, #41 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 North Bend.
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.