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Buckley Library · part of Pierce County Library System

Buckley’s library is a branch of Pierce County Library System, which lends more per resident than 60% of systems its size

Buckley’s library is the Buckley Library, a branch of Pierce County Library System, which serves 665,760 people and lent 2.6M items last year.

123 South River Avenue, Buckley 98321 · about 48 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than two of the three inputs
Directions (253) 548-3310 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
2.6M
3.9 per resident
Visits a year
1.4M
2.1 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,292
about 63 a week · 85K attended
Cardholders
51%
336,412 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Buckley Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Fine-freePart of a bigger system
Civic life grade

What’s behind Buckley’s civic life grade

Buckley isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Pierce County Library System, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Buckley’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureCCommunity nonprofits2.7 per 1,000 residents · WA towns 4.0 · U.S. 3.7–VolunteeringThe volunteering estimate covers too little of Buckley

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 →

Places to belong

14 community nonprofits are registered in Buckley

2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation40.73 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.39 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.28 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education30.56 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other20.39 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.1 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 51%
Borrowing per resident 3.9 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 60%
Kids’ borrowing 1.8 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 56%
Program attendance 0.1 attendees · typical 0.2Lower than 81%
Programs offered 4.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Lower than 84%
Cardholders 51% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 70%
Spending $65 per resident · typical $36Higher than 82%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Pierce County Library System serves 665,760 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pierce County Library System system. The library’s own count.

1.4M
visits
2.1 per resident
2.6M
loans, print + digital
3.9 per resident
3,292
programs & events
85K attended
336K
library cards
51% of people served
Every open hour55items borrowed
Every week1,641people at a program
Every day2,367Wi-Fi sessions
303 staff (full-time equivalent)408 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

2.6M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

2.6Mloans
Books & media (adults) 52%Kids’ books & media 48%
From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 36 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Buckley →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51,209
Ages 6–11672
Teens500
Adults674
All ages237
Little ones
23.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

1.2M
kids’ books & media borrowed
85K
people at programs
3,292
programs
The building

Find it

Buckley Library, 123 South River Avenue, Buckley.

Directions(253) 548-3310
48
hours open a week
4,100
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pierce County Library System branch.

New in Buckley? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Buckley cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$65 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $43M.

Local taxes 97%Federal 0%Gifts & other 2%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $41M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $43M 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 336,412 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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.
  • System-wide. Buckley Library is one branch of Pierce County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 665,760 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 Buckley

Does Buckley have a public library?

Yes: Buckley Library, 123 South River Avenue, is a branch of Pierce County Library System, which serves 665,760 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Pierce County Library System 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 Buckley’s library?

It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Buckley’s civic life grade?

Buckley isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Pierce County Library System, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Buckley.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.