Photo: Christopher Sundita at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Kettle Falls’ library is a branch of Stevens County Rural Library District, which lends more per resident than 50% of systems its size
Kettle Falls’s library is the Kettle Falls Public Library, a branch of Stevens County Rural Library District, which serves 47,650 people and lent 291K items last year.
The short version on Kettle Falls’s library
Programs are almost all for children
92% of the 617 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 10 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 80% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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; Kettle Falls’s library is a branch of Stevens County Rural Library District, so they cover the whole system (47,650 people), not just the Kettle Falls branch.
What’s behind Kettle Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Kettle Falls is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Kettle Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Kettle Falls’ 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Kettle Falls
4.7 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.
7.4%
7.4% of Kettle Falls’ 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 Kettle Falls’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Stevens County Rural Library District serves 47,650 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 25 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Stevens County Rural Library District system. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
291K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
115,576 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Kettle Falls Public Library, 605 Meyers St., Kettle Falls.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Stevens County Rural Library District branch.
New in Kettle Falls? 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 $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kettle Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 23,235 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Kettle Falls Public Library is one branch of Stevens County Rural Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 47,650 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 Kettle Falls
Does Kettle Falls have a public library?
Yes: Kettle Falls Public Library, 605 Meyers St., is a branch of Stevens County Rural Library District, which serves 47,650 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stevens 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 Kettle Falls’ library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Kettle Falls’ civic life grade?
B Kettle Falls is ahead of 61% 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 Kettle Falls.
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.