Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Bellingham’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Bellingham Public Library serves Bellingham’s 97,270 residents from 4 locations. Last year it lent 1.8M books, movies and e-books and logged 453K visits.
What Bellingham’s library is like
Bellingham ranks 3rd in Washington for borrowing
Out of 20 Washington towns with a library of their own, Bellingham comes 3rd for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. It’s 32% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 183,000 items on the shelves went out about 6.7 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 43 items per child in Bellingham last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 977 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 9.8 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 Bellingham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bellingham is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #9 of 152 in Washington. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
562 community nonprofits are registered in Bellingham
6.0 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 (125 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 17 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
16.6%
16.6% of Bellingham’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.7% in the typical Washington 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 Bellingham’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Bellingham Public Library serves 97,270 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 284 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 183K books and other items on the shelves went out about 6.7 times last year, on average.
579,379 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 13 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 Bellingham last year.
4 places to borrow in Bellingham
Central Library, 210 Central Ave, Bellingham.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bellingham? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Bellingham
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bellingham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $27M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.1M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 55,386 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | Central Library fine-free | 18.5 | 54 | A |
| Marietta-Alderwood | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Geneva | 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.
- 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 Bellingham
Does Bellingham have a public library?
Yes. Bellingham Public Library, 210 Central Ave, serves Bellingham’s 97,270 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bellingham Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bellingham’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 18.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bellingham’s civic life grade?
A Bellingham is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 of 152 in Washington. 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 Bellingham.
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.