Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Sultan’s library is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, which lends more per resident than 84% of systems its size
Sultan’s library is the Sultan Library, a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, which serves 819,554 people and lent 11M items last year.
What Sultan’s library is like
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 5,867 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 66 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Sno-Isle Libraries system spends $75 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) 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; Sultan’s library is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, so they cover the whole system (819,554 people), not just the Sultan branch.
What’s behind Sultan’s civic life grade
Sultan isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.
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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Sultan
3.9 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 (6 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.
48% of borrowing is digital
11M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,218,616 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Sno-Isle Libraries serves 819,554 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 160 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sno-Isle Libraries system. The library’s own count.
About 76 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
Sultan Library, 319 Main St., Suite 100, Sultan.
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 Sno-Isle Libraries branch.
New in Sultan? 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 $2.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sultan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $61M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $169M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $61M 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 516,489 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sultan | Sultan Library fine-free | — | 50 | — too few inputs |
| Startup | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| North Sultan | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Sultan Library is one branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 819,554 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 Sultan
Does Sultan have a public library?
Yes: Sultan Library, 319 Main St., Suite 100, is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, which serves 819,554 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sno-Isle Libraries 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 Sultan’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 13.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Sultan’s civic life grade?
Sultan isn’t graded on civic life: its library is a branch of Sno-Isle Libraries, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Sultan.
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.