Peterson House · Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0Albany’s library is a branch of Alameda County Library, which lends more per resident than 88% of systems its size
Albany’s library is the Albany Library, a branch of Alameda County Library, which serves 581,626 people and lent 5.8M items last year.
Albany’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 72% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
The Alameda County Library system lends 7.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; Albany’s library is a branch of Alameda County Library, so they cover the whole system (581,626 people), not just the Albany branch.
What’s behind Albany’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Albany is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #50 of 448 in California. Albany is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
84 community nonprofits are registered in Albany
4.3 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. 6 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
11.8%
11.8% of Albany’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical California 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 Albany’s residents live; 2022.
About 26 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.
Alameda County Library serves 581,626 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 281 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alameda County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,270,625 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Albany Library, 1247 Marin Avenue, Albany.
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 Alameda County Library branch.
New in Albany? 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 $2.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Albany cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $39M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $82M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $39M 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 310,003 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | Berkeley Public Library - Central fine-free | 19.1 | 45 | A+ |
| San Francisco | San Francisco Main Library fine-free | 16.6 | 58 | A− |
| Richmond | Richmond Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 40 | D− |
| Albany | Albany Library fine-free | — | 39 | A− |
| El Cerrito | El Cerrito Library fine-free | — | 46 | A− |
| Kensington | Kensington 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.
- System-wide. Albany Library is one branch of Alameda County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 581,626 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 Albany
Does Albany have a public library?
Yes: Albany Library, 1247 Marin Avenue, is a branch of Alameda County Library, which serves 581,626 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alameda County 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 Albany’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Albany’s civic life grade?
A− Albany is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #50 of 448 in California. 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 Albany.
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.