Blythe’s library runs 2.4 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Palo Verde Valley Library District serves 20,717 people in and around Blythe. Last year it lent 41K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
What Blythe’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Palo Verde Valley Library District offered 49 programs last year, 2.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 72% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 58% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% 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; Palo Verde Valley Library District serves 20,717 people in and around Blythe, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Blythe’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Blythe is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #312 of 448 in California. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Blythe’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Palo Verde Valley Library District spends $19 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$71K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for 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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Blythe
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.8%
5.8% of Blythe’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 Blythe’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Palo Verde Valley Library District serves 20,717 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Palo Verde Valley Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
41K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
49 programs a year
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
Palo Verde Valley Library District, 125 W. Chanslorway, Blythe.
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 $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Blythe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $387K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $565K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $387K 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 12,312 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blythe | Palo Verde Valley Library District | — | 36 | D |
| Ehrenberg | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Palo Verde Valley Library District serves 20,717 people in and around Blythe, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Blythe.
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 Blythe
Does Blythe have a public library?
Yes. Palo Verde Valley Library District, 125 W. Chanslorway, serves 20,717 people in and around Blythe (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Palo Verde Valley Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Blythe’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Blythe’s civic life grade?
D Blythe is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #312 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 Blythe.
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.