Photo: Shayan (USA) from San Jose, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0Bear Valley’s library is a branch of Alpine County Library/Archives, which lends more per resident than 81% of systems its size
Bear Valley’s library is the Bear Valley Library Station, a branch of Alpine County Library/Archives, which serves 1,179 people and lent 12K items last year.
The short version on Bear Valley’s library
More library cards than residents
3,786 cards for 1,179 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Alpine County Library/Archives system logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 97% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 8.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Bear Valley branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
A well-funded system
The Alpine County Library/Archives system spends $393 per resident a year, about seven times the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 261 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 86 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Bear Valley’s library is a branch of Alpine County Library/Archives, so they cover the whole system (1,179 people), not just the Bear Valley branch; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Bear Valley’s civic life grade
Bear Valley isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alpine County Library/Archives system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Alpine County Library/Archives serves 1,179 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,909 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 2 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
Bear Valley Library Station, 367 Creekside Dr., Bear Valley.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Alpine County Library/Archives branch.
New in Bear Valley? 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 Bear Valley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $463K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $242K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $463K 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 3,786 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Bear Valley’s 22,190 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Bear Valley Library Station is one branch of Alpine County Library/Archives, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,179 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 Bear Valley
Does Bear Valley have a public library?
Yes: Bear Valley Library Station, 367 Creekside Dr., is a branch of Alpine County Library/Archives, which serves 1,179 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alpine County Library/Archives fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bear Valley’s library?
It logged 18.8 visits and lent 9.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bear Valley’s civic life grade?
Bear Valley isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bear Valley.
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.