Paulden’s library is a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, which lends less per resident than 95% of systems its size
Paulden’s library is the Paulden Public Library, a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, which serves 251,768 people and lent 183K items last year.
What Paulden’s library is like
The Yavapai County Free Library District system is used less than most libraries its size
The Yavapai County Free Library District system records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Yavapai County Free Library District system spends $14 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). 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; Paulden’s library is a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, so they cover the whole system (251,768 people), not just the Paulden branch.
What’s behind Paulden’s civic life grade
Paulden 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 Yavapai County Free 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 Paulden
Paulden is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
4.8%
4.8% of Paulden’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.0% in the typical Arizona 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 Paulden’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Yavapai County Free Library District serves 251,768 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Yavapai County Free Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
183K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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
Paulden Public Library, 16 W Big Chino Road, Paulden.
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 Yavapai County Free Library District branch.
New in Paulden? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Paulden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.5M 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 9,473 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chino Valley | Chino Valley Public Library | 8.2 | 50 | B |
| Paulden | Paulden Public Library fine-free | — | 40 | — unincorporated |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Paulden Public Library is one branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 251,768 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 Paulden
Does Paulden have a public library?
Yes: Paulden Public Library, 16 W Big Chino Road, is a branch of Yavapai County Free Library District, which serves 251,768 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Yavapai County Free 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 Paulden’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Paulden’s civic life grade?
Paulden 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 Yavapai County Free Library District, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Paulden.
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.