Photo: GeorgeLouis at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Coalinga’s library is a branch of Coalinga-Huron Library District, which lends less per resident than 91% of systems its size
Coalinga’s library is the Coalinga Library, a branch of Coalinga-Huron Library District, which serves 23,455 people and lent 22K items last year.
What Coalinga’s library is like
The Coalinga-Huron Library District system is used less than most libraries its size
The Coalinga-Huron Library District system records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Coalinga’s library is a branch of Coalinga-Huron Library District, so they cover the whole system (23,455 people), not just the Coalinga branch.
What’s behind Coalinga’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Coalinga is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #297 of 448 in California. Coalinga is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($57K–$94K) 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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Coalinga
1.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
6.0%
6.0% of Coalinga’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 Coalinga’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Coalinga-Huron Library District serves 23,455 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Coalinga-Huron Library District system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
22K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Coalinga Library, 305 N. 4th St., Coalinga.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Coalinga-Huron Library District branch.
New in Coalinga? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Coalinga cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $387K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 3,017 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Coalinga Library is one branch of Coalinga-Huron Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 23,455 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 Coalinga
Does Coalinga have a public library?
Yes: Coalinga Library, 305 N. 4th St., is a branch of Coalinga-Huron Library District, which serves 23,455 people. The branch is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coalinga-Huron Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Coalinga’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 0.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Coalinga’s civic life grade?
D Coalinga is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #297 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 Coalinga.
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.