Biola’s library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 78% of systems its size
Biola’s library is the Biola Station, a branch of Fresno County Public Library, which serves 993,976 people and lent 3.1M items last year.
The short version on Biola’s library
Open only about 9 hours a week
The Biola branch keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 100,000+ people, the Fresno County Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Biola’s library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (993,976 people), not just the Biola branch.
What’s behind Biola’s civic life grade
Biola isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Fresno County Public Library serves 993,976 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fresno County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
3.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,252,318 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 48 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
Biola Station, 4885 N. Biola Ave, Biola.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Fresno County Public Library branch.
New in Biola? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Biola cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $35M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $47M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $35M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 167,355 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Biola Station is one branch of Fresno County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 993,976 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 Biola
Does Biola have a public library?
Yes: Biola Station, 4885 N. Biola Ave, is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, which serves 993,976 people. The branch is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fresno County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Biola’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Biola’s civic life grade?
Biola isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Biola.
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.