Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 3.0Davis’ library is a branch of Yolo County Library, which lends more per resident than 88% of systems its size
Davis’s library is the Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library, a branch of Yolo County Library, which serves 160,994 people and lent 1.5M items last year.
What stands out about Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Davis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Davis is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #39 of 448 in California. Davis is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
378 community nonprofits are registered in Davis
5.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (45 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 30 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.9%
9.9% of Davis’ 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 Davis’ residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
264,300 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Yolo County Library serves 160,994 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 118 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Yolo County Library system. The library’s own count.
About 20 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
Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library, 315 E. 14th St., Davis.
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 Yolo County Library branch.
New in Davis? 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 $2.35 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Davis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $24M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1M 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 52,149 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis | Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library fine-free | — | 57 | A |
| University of California-Davis | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| El Macero | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library is one branch of Yolo County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 160,994 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 Davis
Does Davis have a public library?
Yes: Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library, 315 E. 14th St., is a branch of Yolo County Library, which serves 160,994 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Yolo County 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 Davis’ library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 9.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Davis’ civic life grade?
A Davis is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life, #39 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 Davis.
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.