Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Port Townsend’s library lends 17 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Port Townsend Public Library serves Port Townsend’s 10,530 residents. Last year it lent 176K print books and media and logged 112K visits.
What Port Townsend’s library is like
Port Townsend has the most-used library in Washington
Out of 20 Washington towns with a library of their own, Port Townsend comes first for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Port Townsend uses its library more than almost any town its size
Port Townsend Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 17 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Port Townsend Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 10,100 square feet. The building ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 30% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 43 items per child in Port Townsend last year. Kids & programs ↓
84% of Port Townsend carry a library card
8,864 cards for 10,530 people, or 84%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Port Townsend’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Townsend is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 152 in Washington. All three inputs put Port Townsend near the top nationally; Port Townsend’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 →
166 community nonprofits are registered in Port Townsend
15.9 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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
15.1%
15.1% of Port Townsend’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 Townsend’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 62 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Port Townsend Public Library serves 10,530 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
176K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.9 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Port Townsend last year.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Port Townsend Public Library, 1220 Lawrence Street, Port Townsend.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Port Townsend? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Port Townsend Carnegie Library
Port Townsend Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 3, 1982. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries of Washington TR.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Townsend cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 8,864 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 Port Townsend
Does Port Townsend have a public library?
Yes. Port Townsend Public Library, 1220 Lawrence Street, serves Port Townsend’s 10,530 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Port Townsend Public 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 Port Townsend’s library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 16.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Port Townsend’s civic life grade?
A+ Port Townsend is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 Port Townsend.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.