Photo: Stepheng3 · Public domainBolinas’ library is a branch of Marin County Free Library, which lends more per resident than 91% of systems its size
Bolinas’s library is the Bolinas Library, a branch of Marin County Free Library, which serves 136,835 people and lent 1.8M items last year.
What Bolinas’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Marin County Free Library system logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 91% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Marin County Free Library system spends $151 per resident a year, about four times the typical $36 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. 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; Bolinas’s library is a branch of Marin County Free Library, so they cover the whole system (136,835 people), not just the Bolinas branch.
What’s behind Bolinas’ civic life grade
Bolinas isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Marin County Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 Bolinas
Bolinas is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
17.5%
17.5% of Bolinas’ 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 Bolinas’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 77 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Marin County Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Marin County Free Library serves 136,835 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
588,986 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 22 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
Bolinas Library, 16 Wharf Rd., Bolinas.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Marin County Free Library branch.
New in Bolinas? 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 $1.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bolinas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $21M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $27M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $21M 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 77,064 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bolinas Library is one branch of Marin County Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 136,835 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 Bolinas
Does Bolinas have a public library?
Yes: Bolinas Library, 16 Wharf Rd., is a branch of Marin County Free Library, which serves 136,835 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marin County Free 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 Bolinas’ library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Bolinas’ civic life grade?
Bolinas isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Marin County Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bolinas.
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.