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Mattawa City Hall IMG 1447Photo: Williamborg 18:11, 24 May 2008 (UTC) · Public domain
Mattawa Public Library · part of North Central Regional Library

Mattawa’s library is a branch of North Central Regional Library, which lends less per resident than 62% of systems its size

Mattawa’s library is the Mattawa Public Library, a branch of North Central Regional Library, which serves 280,865 people and lent 1.3M items last year.

101 Manson Lane, Mattawa 99349 · about 21 hours a week
D−Civic lifeFewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns.
Directions (509) 932-5507 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
1.3M
4.6 per resident
Visits a year
654K
2.3 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
4,003
about 77 a week · 54K attended
Cardholders
20%
55,314 cards
Open
21 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Mattawa’s library is like

Open only about 21 hours a week

The Mattawa branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓

43% of borrowing happens on a screen

E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 63% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%, 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; Mattawa’s library is a branch of North Central Regional Library, so they cover the whole system (280,865 people), not just the Mattawa branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Mattawa’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mattawa has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Mattawa is graded on two of the three inputs. Mattawa’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.

D−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Mattawa’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureDCommunity nonprofits1.0 per 1,000 residents · WA towns 4.0 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering1.3% of adults 25–44 · WA towns 7.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Near the bottom
FewerMore
Washington towns we grade (152)#152 of 152
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $29K–$48K (1,623)Ahead of 2%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($29K–$48K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Mattawa is small (3,874 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

4 community nonprofits are registered in Mattawa

1.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation00.11 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans10.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services00.11 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.36 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.11 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

1.3%

1.3% of Mattawa’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 Mattawa’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · What people borrow

43% of borrowing is digital

1.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1.3Mloans
Books & media (adults) 32%Kids’ books & media 25%E-books, audio & streaming 43%
From your couch

561,204 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.3 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 57%
Borrowing per resident 2.6 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 62%
Digital borrowing 2 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 63%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 67%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.2Lower than 56%
Programs offered 14.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 74%
Cardholders 20% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 87%
Spending $58 per resident · typical $36Higher than 75%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

North Central Regional Library serves 280,865 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole North Central Regional Library system. The library’s own count.

654K
visits
2.3 per resident
1.3M
loans, print + digital
4.6 per resident
4,003
programs & events
54K attended
55K
library cards
20% of people served
Every open hour24items borrowed
Every week1,045people at a program
Every day2,120Wi-Fi sessions
115 staff (full-time equivalent)201 public computers
Kids & programs

About 43 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Mattawa →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–51,298
Ages 6–11937
Teens347
Adults1,363
All ages58
Little ones
25

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

322K
kids’ books & media borrowed
54K
people at programs
4,003
programs
The building

Find it

Mattawa Public Library, 101 Manson Lane, Mattawa.

Directions(509) 932-5507
21
hours open a week
1,530
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every North Central Regional Library branch.

New in Mattawa? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.35 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mattawa cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
1
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$420
a year at retail prices · $35 a month

Who pays for it
$58 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $16M.

Local taxes 96%State 1%Federal 0%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $22M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $16M 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 55,314 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Mattawa Public Library is one branch of North Central Regional Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 280,865 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 Mattawa

Does Mattawa have a public library?

Yes: Mattawa Public Library, 101 Manson Lane, is a branch of North Central Regional Library, which serves 280,865 people. The branch is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is North Central Regional 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 Mattawa’s library?

It logged 2.3 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Mattawa’s civic life grade?

D− Mattawa has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Mattawa.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.