Photo: Glenn Scofield Williams · CC BY 2.0The Dalles’ library runs 56 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
The Dalles-Wasco County Library serves The Dalles’s 20,756 residents. Last year it lent 156K print books and media and logged 102K visits.
What The Dalles’s library is like
The library is a National Register landmark
Dalles Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Today’s library there has 17,335 square feet. The building ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Dalles-Wasco County Library ran 1,156 programs last year, about 22 a week. That’s 56 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
The Dalles invests in its library
The Dalles-Wasco County Library spends $83 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) 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 The Dalles’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, The Dalles is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #59 of 106 in Oregon. The Dalles is graded on two of the three inputs. The Dalles’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
111 community nonprofits are registered in The Dalles
7.0 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 (26 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of The Dalles’ 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 The Dalles’ residents live; 2022.
About 10 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 The Dalles last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
The Dalles-Wasco County Library serves 20,756 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 54 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
156K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 87K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
A National Register landmark since 1978
The Dalles-Wasco County Library, 722 Court St., The Dalles.
Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in The Dalles? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Dalles Carnegie Library
Dalles Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 8, 1978. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux Arts Classicism.
The Dalles Carnegie Library is a historic former library building located in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It is one of the thousands of libraries whose construction was funded by Andrew Carnegie. The construction grant of $10,000 was approved in March 1907, and it was dedicated in September 1910.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average The Dalles cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 7,481 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dalles | The Dalles-Wasco County Library | 7.5 | 56 | B+ |
| Chenoweth | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 The Dalles
Does The Dalles have a public library?
Yes. The Dalles-Wasco County Library, 722 Court St., serves The Dalles’ 20,756 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is The Dalles-Wasco County Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is The Dalles’ library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 7.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is The Dalles’ civic life grade?
B+ The Dalles is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #59 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 The Dalles.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.