Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Kalama’s library lends 1.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Kalama Public Library serves Kalama’s 3,160 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,128 visits.
The short version on Kalama’s library
Most of Kalama’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 61% of loans, more per resident than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 39%. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
69% of the 122 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 22 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Kalama’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kalama is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #49 of 152 in Washington. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Kalama
4.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
14.8%
14.8% of Kalama’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 Kalama’s residents live; 2022.
61% of borrowing is digital
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
9,323 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Kalama Public Library serves 3,160 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
122 programs a year
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 Kalama last year.
Find it
Kalama Public Library, 312 N 1st, Kalama.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Kalama? 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 $2.79 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kalama cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $92K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $256K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $92K 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 738 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Kalama
Does Kalama have a public library?
Yes. Kalama Public Library, 312 N 1st, serves Kalama’s 3,160 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kalama 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 Kalama’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Kalama’s civic life grade?
B+ Kalama is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #49 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 Kalama.
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.