Photo: Sarah McDevitt · CC BY 2.0Camas’ library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Camas Public Library serves Camas’s 27,660 residents. Last year it lent 605K books, movies and e-books and logged 150K visits.
Camas’s library, in brief
Camas borrows more library books per person than any town in Washington
Out of 20 Washington towns with a library of their own, Camas comes first for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 65% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 38 items per child in Camas last year. Kids & programs ↓
Camas uses its library more than almost any town its size
Camas Public Library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Camas Public Library ran 1,217 programs last year, about 23 a week. That’s 44 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 36,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Camas has a card
27,428 cards for 27,660 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. 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.
What’s behind Camas’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Camas is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #18 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 →
128 community nonprofits are registered in Camas
4.7 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 (31 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.0%
11.0% of Camas’ 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 Camas’ residents live; 2022.
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 Camas last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Camas Public Library serves 27,660 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 238 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
605K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 97K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.7 times last year, on average.
147,520 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Camas Public Library, 625 NE 4th Avenue, Camas.
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 Camas? 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 $3.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Camas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 27,428 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.
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 Camas
Does Camas have a public library?
Yes. Camas Public Library, 625 NE 4th Avenue, serves Camas’ 27,660 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Camas 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 Camas’ library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 21.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Camas’ civic life grade?
A Camas is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #18 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 Camas.
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.