Photo: Jelson25 · Public domainFriday Harbor’s library is a branch of San Juan Island Library District, which lends more per resident than 96% of systems its size
Friday Harbor’s library is the San Juan Island Library, a branch of San Juan Island Library District, which serves 8,884 people and lent 156K items last year.
Friday Harbor’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The San Juan Island Library District system logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The San Juan Island Library District system spends $220 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 36% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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; Friday Harbor’s library is a branch of San Juan Island Library District, so they cover the whole system (8,884 people), not just the Friday Harbor branch.
What’s behind Friday Harbor’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Friday Harbor is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 152 in Washington. Friday Harbor is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Friday Harbor near the top nationally; 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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Friday Harbor
12.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
20.1%
20.1% of Friday Harbor’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 Friday Harbor’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
156K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
41,693 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
San Juan Island Library District serves 8,884 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 62 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole San Juan Island Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 4 kids’ programs 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
San Juan Island Library, 1010 Guard Street, Friday Harbor.
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 San Juan Island Library District branch.
New in Friday Harbor? 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 $1.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Friday Harbor cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 5,111 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. San Juan Island Library is one branch of San Juan Island Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,884 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 Friday Harbor
Does Friday Harbor have a public library?
Yes: San Juan Island Library, 1010 Guard Street, is a branch of San Juan Island Library District, which serves 8,884 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Juan Island 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 Friday Harbor’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 17.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Friday Harbor’s civic life grade?
A+ Friday Harbor is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Friday Harbor.
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.