Photo: Williamborg · CC BY-SA 3.0Dayton’s library is a branch of Columbia County Rural Library District, which lends more per resident than 53% of systems its size
Dayton’s library is the Dayton Memorial Library, a branch of Columbia County Rural Library District, which serves 3,855 people and lent 23K items last year.
Dayton’s library, in brief
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
3,329 cards for 3,855 people, or 86%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Columbia County Rural Library District system spends $98 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) 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; Dayton’s library is a branch of Columbia County Rural Library District, so they cover the whole system (3,855 people), not just the Dayton branch.
What’s behind Dayton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dayton is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #22 of 152 in Washington. Dayton is graded on two of the three inputs. Dayton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Dayton
13.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.5%
7.5% of Dayton’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 Dayton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Columbia County Rural Library District serves 3,855 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Columbia County Rural Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,152 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Dayton Memorial Library, 111 S 3rd St., Dayton.
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 Columbia County Rural Library District branch.
New in Dayton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dayton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $377K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $376K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $377K 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 3,329 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Dayton Memorial Library is one branch of Columbia County Rural Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 3,855 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 Dayton
Does Dayton have a public library?
Yes: Dayton Memorial Library, 111 S 3rd St., is a branch of Columbia County Rural Library District, which serves 3,855 people. The branch is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Columbia County Rural Library District 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 Dayton’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Dayton’s civic life grade?
A− Dayton is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #22 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 Dayton.
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.