Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0Beverly Hills’ library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Beverly Hills Public Library serves Beverly Hills’s 31,806 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 288K books, movies and e-books and logged 463K visits.
What Beverly Hills’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 30 items per child in Beverly Hills last year. Kids & programs ↓
Top 10% in California for library use
Beverly Hills ranks #6 of 116 California towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 15 visits per resident, more than at 99% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Beverly Hills invests in its library
Beverly Hills Public Library spends $399 per resident a year, about ten times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 359 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The main library is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out. The buildings ↓
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 Beverly Hills’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Beverly Hills is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #53 of 448 in California. Beverly Hills’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
434 community nonprofits are registered in Beverly Hills
13.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (81 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 50 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.8%
5.8% of Beverly Hills’ 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 Beverly Hills’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 66 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Beverly Hills Public Library serves 31,806 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
288K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 184K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
47,768 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Beverly Hills last year.
2 places to borrow in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills Public Library, 444 N. Rexford Dr., Beverly Hills.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Beverly Hills? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Beverly Hills
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Beverly Hills cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 21,298 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beverly Hills | Beverly Hills Public Library fine-free | 9.0 | 67 | A− |
| West Hollywood | West Hollywood Library fine-free | — | 52 | A− |
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 Beverly Hills
Does Beverly Hills have a public library?
Yes. Beverly Hills Public Library, 444 N. Rexford Dr., serves Beverly Hills’ 31,806 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Beverly Hills Public 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 Beverly Hills’ library?
It logged 14.6 visits and lent 9.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Beverly Hills’ civic life grade?
A− Beverly Hills is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #53 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 Beverly Hills.
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.