Photo: Mt. Hood Territory · CC BY 2.0Sandy’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Sandy Public Library serves Sandy’s 33,494 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 231K print books and media and logged 146K visits.
What stands out about Sandy’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Sandy’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sandy is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #55 of 106 in Oregon. Sandy is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Sandy
4.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.9%
8.9% of Sandy’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 Sandy’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Sandy Public Library serves 33,494 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Books and media off the shelf
231K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 72K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.2 times last year, on average.
About 5 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 Sandy last year.
2 places to borrow in Sandy
Sandy Public Library, 38980 Proctor Blvd, Sandy.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Sandy
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sandy cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 10,913 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 Sandy
Does Sandy have a public library?
Yes. Sandy Public Library, 38980 Proctor Blvd, serves Sandy’s 33,494 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sandy Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sandy’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 6.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Sandy’s civic life grade?
A− Sandy is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #55 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 Sandy.
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.