Holy Trinity Episcopal Church · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0Palouse’s library is a branch of Whitman County Library, which lends less per resident than 54% of systems its size
Palouse’s library is the Palouse Branch Library, a branch of Whitman County Library, which serves 15,070 people and lent 96K items last year.
What Palouse’s library is like
Eight times the programs of a typical library its size
The Whitman County Library system ran 2,958 programs last year, about 57 a week. That’s 196 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 27,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%. What people borrow ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Palouse branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A well-funded system
The Whitman County Library system spends $88 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) 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; Palouse’s library is a branch of Whitman County Library, so they cover the whole system (15,070 people), not just the Palouse branch.
What’s behind Palouse’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Palouse is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Palouse is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Palouse near the top nationally; Palouse’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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Palouse
12.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
12.7%
12.7% of Palouse’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 Palouse’s residents live; 2022.
About 30 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Whitman County Library serves 15,070 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at Whitman County Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Whitman County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
43% of borrowing is digital
96K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
41,196 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Palouse Branch Library, 120 E Main, Palouse.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Whitman County Library branch.
New in Palouse? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palouse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M 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 10,250 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Palouse Branch Library is one branch of Whitman County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 15,070 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 Palouse
Does Palouse have a public library?
Yes: Palouse Branch Library, 120 E Main, is a branch of Whitman County Library, which serves 15,070 people. The branch is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Whitman County 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 Palouse’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 6.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Palouse’s civic life grade?
A+ Palouse is among the top 1% 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 Palouse.
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.