Photo: Jo Levine · CC BY 2.0Emma Humphrey Library serves Vale’s 1,947 residents
Emma Humphrey Library serves Vale’s 1,947 residents.
What’s behind Vale’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Vale is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Vale is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Vale’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Vale’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2021 figure, so it is left out.
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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Vale
4.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.0%
8.0% of Vale’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 Vale’s residents live; 2022.
A year at Emma Humphrey Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Find it
Emma Humphrey Library, 150 A St. E, Vale.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Vale resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 1,947 people it serves ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Emma Humphrey Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2021 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Vale
Does Vale have a public library?
Yes. Emma Humphrey Library, 150 A St. E, serves Vale’s 1,947 residents (the survey’s count).
Is Emma Humphrey Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Vale’s library?
It lent 0.0 items per resident in 2024 (print). Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Vale’s civic life grade?
B Vale is ahead of 60% 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 Vale.
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.