Carmichael’s library is a branch of Sacramento Public Library, which lends less per resident than 57% of systems its size
Carmichael’s library is the Carmichael Library, a branch of Sacramento Public Library, which serves 1,490,915 people and lent 8.7M items last year.
Carmichael’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The Sacramento Public Library system offered 4,436 programs last year, 3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 51% of loans, more per resident than at 78% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 49%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Carmichael’s library is a branch of Sacramento Public Library, so they cover the whole system (1,490,915 people), not just the Carmichael branch.
What’s behind Carmichael’s civic life grade
Carmichael 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 Sacramento Public 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 Carmichael
Carmichael is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
7.0%
7.0% of Carmichael’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 Carmichael’s residents live; 2022.
51% of borrowing is digital
8.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,424,815 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Sacramento Public Library serves 1,490,915 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 161 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sacramento Public Library system. The library’s own count.
About 55 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
Carmichael Library, 5605 Marconi Ave., Carmichael.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sacramento Public Library branch.
New in Carmichael? 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 $2.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Carmichael cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $57M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $127M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $57M 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 858,125 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmichael | Carmichael Library fine-free | — | 39 | — unincorporated |
| Citrus Heights | Sylvan Oaks Library fine-free | — | 39 | D |
| Arden-Arcade | Arcade Library fine-free | — | 39 | — unincorporated |
| La Riviera | Rancho Cordova Library fine-free | — | 39 | — unincorporated |
| Fair Oaks | Fair Oaks Library fine-free | — | 39 | — unincorporated |
| North Highlands | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Rancho Cordova | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Foothill Farms | 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.
- System-wide. Carmichael Library is one branch of Sacramento Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,490,915 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 Carmichael
Does Carmichael have a public library?
Yes: Carmichael Library, 5605 Marconi Ave., is a branch of Sacramento Public Library, which serves 1,490,915 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sacramento 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 Carmichael’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 5.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Carmichael’s civic life grade?
Carmichael 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 Sacramento Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Carmichael.
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.