Photo: Michael Barratt · Public domainOcean Shores’ library lends 8.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Ocean Shores Public Library serves Ocean Shores’s 7,630 residents. Last year it lent 68K print books and media and logged 41K visits.
What stands out about Ocean Shores’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Ocean Shores’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ocean Shores is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #44 of 152 in Washington. Ocean Shores’ 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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Ocean Shores
6.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Ocean Shores’ 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 Ocean Shores’ residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
68K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 22K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.1 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ocean Shores Public Library serves 7,630 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Find it
Ocean Shores Public Library, 573 Point Brown Ave NW, Ocean Shores.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Ocean Shores? 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 $2.48 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ocean Shores cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $468K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $468K 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 3,709 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.
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 Ocean Shores
Does Ocean Shores have a public library?
Yes. Ocean Shores Public Library, 573 Point Brown Ave NW, serves Ocean Shores’ 7,630 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ocean Shores Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ocean Shores’ library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 8.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ocean Shores’ civic life grade?
B+ Ocean Shores is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #44 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 Ocean Shores.
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.