Gordon House · Photo: Andrew Parodi at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Silverton’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Silver Falls Library District serves 20,787 people in and around Silverton. Last year it lent 223K print books and media and logged 81K visits.
Silverton’s library, in brief
A system of heavy borrowers
Silver Falls Library District lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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; Silver Falls Library District serves 20,787 people in and around Silverton, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Silverton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Silverton is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #16 of 106 in Oregon. Silverton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Silverton’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 →
84 community nonprofits are registered in Silverton
8.0 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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.0%
10.0% of Silverton’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 Silverton’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
223K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Silver Falls Library District serves 20,787 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 93 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Silver Falls Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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
Silver Falls Library District, 410 S Water St., Silverton.
Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Silver Falls Library District branch.
New in Silverton? 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 $2.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Silverton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 7,563 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. Silver Falls Library District serves 20,787 people in and around Silverton, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Silverton.
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 Silverton
Does Silverton have a public library?
Yes. Silver Falls Library District, 410 S Water St., serves 20,787 people in and around Silverton (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Silver Falls Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Silverton’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 10.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Silverton’s civic life grade?
A Silverton is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #16 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 Silverton.
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.