Galster House · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0Port Hadlock-Irondale’s library is a branch of Jefferson County Rural Library District, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Port Hadlock-Irondale’s library is the Jefferson County Library, a branch of Jefferson County Rural Library District, which serves 23,170 people and lent 365K items last year.
The short version on Port Hadlock-Irondale’s library
A system of heavy borrowers
The Jefferson County Rural Library District system lends 12 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Jefferson County Rural Library District system spends $104 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; Port Hadlock-Irondale’s library is a branch of Jefferson County Rural Library District, so they cover the whole system (23,170 people), not just the Port Hadlock-Irondale branch.
What’s behind Port Hadlock-Irondale’s civic life grade
Port Hadlock-Irondale isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Jefferson County Rural Library District, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Port Hadlock-Irondale
Port Hadlock-Irondale is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
9.7%
9.7% of Port Hadlock-Irondale’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 Port Hadlock-Irondale’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
365K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
91,077 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jefferson County Rural Library District serves 23,170 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 100 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jefferson County Rural Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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
Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Avenue, Port Hadlock.
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 Jefferson County Rural Library District branch.
New in Port Hadlock-Irondale? 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 $2.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Hadlock-Irondale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 10,163 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jefferson County Library is one branch of Jefferson County Rural Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 23,170 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 Port Hadlock-Irondale
Does Port Hadlock-Irondale have a public library?
Yes: Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Avenue, is a branch of Jefferson County Rural Library District, which serves 23,170 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jefferson County Rural 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 Port Hadlock-Irondale’s library?
It logged 4.6 visits and lent 15.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Port Hadlock-Irondale’s civic life grade?
Port Hadlock-Irondale isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Jefferson County Rural Library District, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Port Hadlock-Irondale.
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.