Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 4.0Lynden’s library is a branch of Whatcom County Library System, which lends more per resident than 95% of systems its size
Lynden’s library is the Lynden Library, a branch of Whatcom County Library System, which serves 140,730 people and lent 2M items last year.
What Lynden’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Whatcom County Library System logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Whatcom County Library System spends $77 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) 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; Lynden’s library is a branch of Whatcom County Library System, so they cover the whole system (140,730 people), not just the Lynden branch.
What’s behind Lynden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lynden is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #27 of 152 in Washington. Lynden is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Lynden’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
93 community nonprofits are registered in Lynden
5.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (44 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.7%
8.7% of Lynden’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 Lynden’s residents live; 2022.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
505,408 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Whatcom County Library System serves 140,730 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 88 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Whatcom County Library System system. The library’s own count.
About 21 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
Lynden Library, 216 4th Street, Lynden.
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 Whatcom County Library System branch.
New in Lynden? 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 Lynden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 61,846 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Lynden Library is one branch of Whatcom County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 140,730 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 Lynden
Does Lynden have a public library?
Yes: Lynden Library, 216 4th Street, is a branch of Whatcom County Library System, which serves 140,730 people. The branch is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Whatcom County Library System 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 Lynden’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 14.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lynden’s civic life grade?
A− Lynden is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on civic life, #27 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 Lynden.
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.