Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 4.0Carmel-by-the-Sea’s library logs 43 visits per resident, the fourth-highest of 3,790 U.S. town libraries
Harrison Memorial Library serves Carmel-by-the-Sea’s 3,122 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 178K books, movies and e-books and logged 134K visits.
Carmel-by-the-Sea’s library, in brief
Carmel-by-the-Sea borrows more library books per person than any town in California
Out of 117 California towns with a library of their own, Carmel-by-the-Sea comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #1 for kids’ borrowing and #1 for library use. How it compares ↓
Carmel-by-the-Sea uses its library more than almost any town its size
Carmel-by-the-Sea’s library system logs 43 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 27 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Most of Carmel-by-the-Sea’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 52% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 48%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 344 items per child in Carmel-by-the-Sea last year. Kids & programs ↓
Carmel-by-the-Sea invests in its library
Carmel-by-the-Sea’s library system spends $512 per resident a year, about 12 times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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 Carmel-by-the-Sea’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Carmel-by-the-Sea is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 448 in California. Carmel-by-the-Sea is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Carmel-by-the-Sea near the top nationally; library visits rank highest.
Harrison Memorial Library logged 42.9 visits per resident in FY2024, #4 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 Carmel-by-the-Sea
14.0 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 (12 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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Harrison Memorial Library serves 3,122 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
52% of borrowing is digital
178K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 48K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
92,877 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Carmel-by-the-Sea last year.
2 places to borrow in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Harrison Memorial Library, Ocean Ave. & Lincoln Blvd., Carmel.
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 Carmel-by-the-Sea? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Carmel-by-the-Sea
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carmel-by-the-Sea resident borrows (the library didn’t report its card count for 2024).
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 resident’s month = the library’s yearly loans and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ the 3,122 people it serves ÷ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmel-by-the-Sea | Harrison Memorial Library fine-free | 56.9 | 35 | A+ |
| Del Monte Forest | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- Visits count everyone. Carmel-by-the-Sea’s 134,067 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Not reported for 2024: library cards. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Carmel-by-the-Sea
Does Carmel-by-the-Sea have a public library?
Yes. Harrison Memorial Library, Ocean Ave. & Lincoln Blvd., serves Carmel-by-the-Sea’s 3,122 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harrison Memorial 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 Carmel-by-the-Sea’s library?
It logged 42.9 visits and lent 56.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Its visits per resident rank #4 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Carmel-by-the-Sea’s civic life grade?
A+ Carmel-by-the-Sea is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Carmel-by-the-Sea.
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.