Photo: Dieter F · CC BY-SA 3.0Seaside’s library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Seaside Public Library serves Seaside’s 7,393 residents. Last year it lent 64K print books and media and logged 101K visits.
Seaside’s library, in brief
Seaside has the most-used library in Oregon
Out of 30 Oregon towns with a library of their own, Seaside comes first for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Seaside uses its library more than almost any town its size
Seaside Public Library logs 14 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 8.7 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Seaside invests in its library
Seaside Public Library spends $115 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Seaside’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Seaside is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #7 of 106 in Oregon. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
69 community nonprofits are registered in Seaside
9.5 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 (9 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.
10.3%
10.3% of Seaside’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 Seaside’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Seaside Public Library serves 7,393 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
64K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Seaside last year.
Find it
Seaside Public Library, 1131 Broadway St., Seaside.
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 $1.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Seaside cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $847K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $847K 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 6,109 cardholders ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seaside | Seaside Public Library | 8.7 | 50 | A+ |
| Gearhart | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
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.
- 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 Seaside
Does Seaside have a public library?
Yes. Seaside Public Library, 1131 Broadway St., serves Seaside’s 7,393 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Seaside Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Seaside’s library?
It logged 13.7 visits and lent 8.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Seaside’s civic life grade?
A+ Seaside is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 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 Seaside.
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.