Portland’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Bell/Whittington Public Library serves Portland’s 28,286 residents. Last year it lent 81K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.
What Portland’s library is like
More library cards than residents
28,825 cards for 28,286 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Bell/Whittington Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Bell/Whittington Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Most of Portland’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 51% of loans. Print still makes up 49%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 307 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.4 a week for ages 0–5. 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.
What’s behind Portland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Portland is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #377 of 539 in Texas. Portland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($63K–$105K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
39 community nonprofits are registered in Portland
1.9 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Portland’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas 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 Portland’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bell/Whittington Public Library serves 28,286 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 29 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
51% of borrowing is digital
81K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
41,350 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Portland last year.
Find it
Bell/Whittington Public Library, 2400 Memorial Pkwy, Portland.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Portland? 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Portland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $725K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $725K 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 28,825 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | Bell/Whittington Public Library | 2.9 | 54 | D |
| Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi Public Libraries | 2.6 | 43 | D |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Portland
Does Portland have a public library?
Yes. Bell/Whittington Public Library, 2400 Memorial Pkwy, serves Portland’s 28,286 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bell/Whittington Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Portland’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Portland’s civic life grade?
D Portland is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #377 of 539 in Texas. 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 Portland.
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.