Cape Blanco Lighthouse · Photo: Bureau of Land Management · CC BY-SA 2.0Port Orford’s library lends 21 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Port Orford Public Library serves 2,573 people in and around Port Orford. Last year it lent 55K print books and media and logged 23K visits.
Port Orford’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
Port Orford Public Library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 21 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
76% of the 126 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
2,264 cards for 2,573 people, or 88%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
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; Port Orford Public Library serves 2,573 people in and around Port Orford, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Port Orford’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Orford is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Port Orford is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Port Orford’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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Port Orford
25.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
10.4%
10.4% of Port Orford’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 Port Orford’s residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
55K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Port Orford Public Library serves 2,573 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Port Orford Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Port Orford Public Library, 1421 Oregon St., Port Orford.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Port Orford Public Library branch.
New in Port Orford? 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 $4.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Orford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $203K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $986K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $203K 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 2,264 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.
- System-wide. Port Orford Public Library serves 2,573 people in and around Port Orford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Port Orford.
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 Port Orford
Does Port Orford have a public library?
Yes. Port Orford Public Library, 1421 Oregon St., serves 2,573 people in and around Port Orford (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Port Orford Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Port Orford’s library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 21.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Port Orford’s civic life grade?
A+ Port Orford is ahead of 98% 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 Port Orford.
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.