Photo: Ruthven78 · CC BY-SA 3.0Metaline Falls’ library is a branch of Pend Oreille County Library District, which lends more per resident than 63% of systems its size
Metaline Falls’s library is the Metalines Community Library, a branch of Pend Oreille County Library District, which serves 13,850 people and lent 69K items last year.
What stands out about Metalines Community Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Metaline Falls’ civic life grade
Metaline Falls isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
1,001 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Pend Oreille County Library District serves 13,850 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pend Oreille County Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
69K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Metaline Falls’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Metalines Community Library, 302 Park St., Metaline Falls.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Pend Oreille County Library District branch.
New in Metaline 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 $1.83 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Metaline Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $839K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $839K 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 4,709 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Metalines Community Library is one branch of Pend Oreille County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 13,850 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 Metaline Falls
Does Metaline Falls have a public library?
Yes: Metalines Community Library, 302 Park St., is a branch of Pend Oreille County Library District, which serves 13,850 people. The branch is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pend Oreille County 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 Metaline Falls’ library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 5.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Metaline Falls’ civic life grade?
Metaline Falls isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Metaline 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.