Photo: Iop90cwl · CC BY-SA 4.0West Richland’s library is a branch of Mid-Columbia Libraries, which lends more per resident than 74% of systems its size
West Richland’s library is the West Richland Branch Library, a branch of Mid-Columbia Libraries, which serves 272,954 people and lent 2.4M items last year.
The short version on West Richland’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 69% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 2,741 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 25 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
77% of the people it serves carry a library card
210,276 cards for 272,954 people, or 77%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. 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; West Richland’s library is a branch of Mid-Columbia Libraries, so they cover the whole system (272,954 people), not just the West Richland branch.
What’s behind West Richland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, West Richland is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns, #93 of 152 in Washington. West Richland is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; West Richland’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($90K–$150K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for 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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in West Richland
2.4 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 (13 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.
8.8%
8.8% of West Richland’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 West Richland’s residents live; 2022.
About 41 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Mid-Columbia Libraries serves 272,954 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 103 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mid-Columbia Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
924,003 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
West Richland Branch Library, 3803 W. Van Giesen, West Richland.
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 Mid-Columbia Libraries branch.
New in West Richland? 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 $3.88 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Richland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.2M 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 210,276 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richland | Richland Public Library fine-free | 13.9 | 62 | B |
| West Richland | West Richland Branch Library fine-free | — | 47 | C+ |
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. West Richland Branch Library is one branch of Mid-Columbia Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 272,954 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 West Richland
Does West Richland have a public library?
Yes: West Richland Branch Library, 3803 W. Van Giesen, is a branch of Mid-Columbia Libraries, which serves 272,954 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mid-Columbia 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 West Richland’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 8.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is West Richland’s civic life grade?
C+ West Richland is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on civic life, #93 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 West Richland.
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.