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Darrington Library · part of Sno-Isle Libraries

Darrington’s library is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size

Darrington’s library is the Darrington Library, a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, which serves 819,554 people and lent 11M items last year.

1005 Cascade St., Darrington 98241 · about 48 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAhead of 98% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (360) 436-1600 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
11M
13.3 per resident
Visits a year
2.4M
3 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
5,867
about 113 a week · 149K attended
Cardholders
63%
516,489 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Darrington’s library

48% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓

Most programs are for young children

67% of the 5,867 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 66 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓

A well-funded system

The Sno-Isle Libraries system spends $75 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓

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; Darrington’s library is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, so they cover the whole system (819,554 people), not just the Darrington branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Darrington’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Darrington is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns. Darrington is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Darrington’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Darrington’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA+Community nonprofits11.3 per 1,000 residents · WA towns 4.0 · U.S. 3.7AVolunteering11.5% of adults 25–44 · WA towns 7.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 98%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $50K–$83K (8,726)Ahead of 98%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Darrington is small (1,500 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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

16 community nonprofits are registered in Darrington

11.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.71 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation21.42 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans32.12 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services32.12 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.71 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.71 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other53.54 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

11.5%

11.5% of Darrington’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 Darrington’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

48% of borrowing is digital

11M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

11Mloans
Books & media (adults) 29%Kids’ books & media 23%E-books, audio & streaming 48%
From your couch

5,218,616 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures

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

Visits per resident 3 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 76%
Borrowing per resident 6.9 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 84%
Digital borrowing 6.4 e-items · typical 1.4Top 10%
Kids’ borrowing 3.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 79%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.2Lower than 60%
Programs offered 7.2 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Lower than 65%
Cardholders 63% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 81%
Spending $75 per resident · typical $36Higher than 86%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Sno-Isle Libraries serves 819,554 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 160 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sno-Isle Libraries system. The library’s own count.

2.4M
visits
3 per resident
11M
loans, print + digital
13.3 per resident
5,867
programs & events
149K attended
516K
library cards
63% of people served
Every open hour160items borrowed
Every week2,870people at a program
Every day4,628Wi-Fi sessions
394 staff (full-time equivalent)725 public computers
Kids & programs

About 76 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Darrington →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–53,443
Ages 6–11486
Teens242
Adults1,217
All ages479
Little ones
66.2

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

2.5M
kids’ books & media borrowed
149K
people at programs
5,867
programs
The building

Find it

Darrington Library, 1005 Cascade St., Darrington.

Directions(360) 436-1600
48
hours open a week
3,372
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sno-Isle Libraries branch.

New in Darrington? The Handbook →

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

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.76 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$75 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $61M.

Local taxes 91%State 3%Federal 1%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $169M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $61M 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 516,489 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Darrington Library is one branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 819,554 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 Darrington

Does Darrington have a public library?

Yes: Darrington Library, 1005 Cascade St., is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, which serves 819,554 people. The branch is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Sno-Isle Libraries 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 Darrington’s library?

It logged 3.0 visits and lent 13.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Darrington’s civic life grade?

A+ Darrington is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Darrington.

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.