US Post Office-Burbank Downtown Station · Photo: Minnaert · CC BY-SA 3.0Burbank’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
Burbank Public Library serves Burbank’s 105,603 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 769K books, movies and e-books and logged 495K visits.
The short version on Burbank’s library
People come to Burbank Public Library a lot
Burbank Public Library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Burbank has a card
94,892 cards for 105,603 people, or 90%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
Burbank invests in its library
Burbank Public Library spends $87 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Three places to borrow in Burbank
Burbank Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. 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 Burbank’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Burbank is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #138 of 448 in California. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #81. Library visits hold 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 →
437 community nonprofits are registered in Burbank
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (114 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 27 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Burbank’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 Burbank’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 100 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Burbank Public Library serves 105,603 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
769K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 314K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
137,632 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Burbank last year.
3 places to borrow in Burbank
Burbank Public Library, 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Burbank? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Burbank
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.24 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Burbank cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.2M 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 94,892 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Burbank borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burbank | Burbank Public Library fine-free | 7.3 | 58 | B− |
| Los Angeles | Central Library fine-free | 6.7 | 57 | D |
| Glendale | Glendale Library, Arts & Culture fine-free | 4.6 | 66 | C |
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 Burbank
Does Burbank have a public library?
Yes. Burbank Public Library, 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd., serves Burbank’s 105,603 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Burbank 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 Burbank’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 7.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Burbank’s civic life grade?
B− Burbank is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life, #138 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 Burbank.
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.