Zane Grey Estate · Photo: Nathan Simmons · CC BY-SA 3.0Altadena’s library lends 5.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Altadena Library District serves Altadena’s 42,734 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 288K books, movies and e-books and logged 137K visits.
Altadena’s library, in brief
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 769 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 169 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Altadena invests in its library
Altadena Library District spends $111 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) 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.
What’s behind Altadena’s civic life grade
On library visits and volunteering, Altadena is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #143 of 448 in California. Altadena is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 Altadena
Altadena is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
8.1%
8.1% of Altadena’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 Altadena’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Altadena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.7M 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 23,217 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Altadena Library District serves 42,734 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 65 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
288K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 68K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.3 times last year, on average.
61,191 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Altadena last year.
2 places to borrow in Altadena
Altadena Library District, 600 E. Mariposa St., Altadena.
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 Altadena? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Altadena
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altadena | Altadena Library District fine-free | 6.7 | 48 | B− |
| Pasadena | Hastings Branch Library fine-free | 4.9 | 54 | B |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Altadena
Does Altadena have a public library?
Yes. Altadena Library District, 600 E. Mariposa St., serves Altadena’s 42,734 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Altadena 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 Altadena’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 6.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Altadena’s civic life grade?
B− Altadena is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on civic life, #143 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 Altadena.
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.