Photo: Thomas Wozniak · CC BY-SA 4.0Ogden’s library is a branch of Weber County Library System, which lends more per resident than 69% of systems its size
Ogden’s library is the Weber County Main Library, a branch of Weber County Library System, which serves 271,926 people and lent 2.1M items last year.
What Ogden’s library is like
The branch is a National Register landmark
Weber County Main Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2019. Today’s library there has 55,680 square feet. The building ↓
Programs draw a crowd
165,000 people came to the system’s 3,692 programs last year: 0.6 per resident, against a typical 0.2, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Weber County Library System logs 4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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; Ogden’s library is a branch of Weber County Library System, so they cover the whole system (271,926 people), not just the Ogden branch.
What’s behind Ogden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ogden is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #40 of 106 in Utah. Ogden is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Ogden’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($54K–$91K) 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 →
317 community nonprofits are registered in Ogden
3.6 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 (66 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 13 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.9%
5.9% of Ogden’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.2% in the typical Utah 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 Ogden’s residents live; 2022.
About 36 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Weber County Library System serves 271,926 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 130 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Weber County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
776,749 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
A National Register landmark since 2019
Weber County Main Library, 2464 Jefferson Ave, Ogden.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Weber County Library System branch.
New in Ogden? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Weber County Main Library
Weber County Main Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 13, 2019. It is significant for its architecture and education at the local level.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ogden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $14M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $33M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $14M 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 125,457 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ogden | Weber County Main Library | — | 62 | C |
| North Ogden | Weber County Library North Branch | — | 62 | C− |
| Roy | Weber County Library Headquarters/Southwest Branch | — | 62 | D |
| South Ogden | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Riverdale | None of its own | — | — | D |
| West Haven | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Harrisville | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Marriott-Slaterville | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Farr West | None of its own | — | — | 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.
- System-wide. Weber County Main Library is one branch of Weber County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 271,926 people it serves.
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 Ogden
Does Ogden have a public library?
Yes: Weber County Main Library, 2464 Jefferson Ave, is a branch of Weber County Library System, which serves 271,926 people. The branch is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Weber County Library System 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 Ogden’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Ogden’s civic life grade?
C Ogden is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on civic life, #40 of 106 in Utah. 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 Ogden.
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. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.