Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Houstontech assumed (based on copyright claims). · Public domainEl Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s library logs 3.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Paso Robles City Library serves El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s 30,907 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 337K books, movies and e-books and logged 119K visits.
The short version on El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s library
43% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 43% of loans, more per resident than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 57%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Paso Robles Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998. Today’s library there has 18,687 square feet. The buildings ↓
Most programs are for young children
74% of the 490 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 47,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average. 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.
What’s behind El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #148 of 448 in California. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
77 community nonprofits are registered in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)
2.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.6%
9.6% of El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’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 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s residents live; 2022.
43% of borrowing is digital
337K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average.
143,952 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Paso Robles City Library serves 30,907 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 102 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 7 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 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) last year.
A National Register landmark since 1998
Paso Robles Public Library, 1000 Spring St., Paso Robles.
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 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Paso Robles Carnegie Library
Robles, Paso, Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jan 26, 1998. It is significant for its social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of California Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Paso Robles Carnegie Library is a Carnegie library located in Paso Robles City Park in Paso Robles, California. The library was built from 1907 to 1908 through a $10,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. Architect William H. Weeks, who designed several other buildings in the city, designed the library in the Classical Revival style.
More about the building →Other libraries in El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.3M 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 cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 18,589 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) | Paso Robles Public Library fine-free | 10.9 | 56 | B− |
| Templeton | 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.
- 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 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)
Does El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) have a public library?
Yes. Paso Robles City Library, 1000 Spring St., serves El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s 30,907 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Paso Robles City 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 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 10.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles)’s civic life grade?
B− El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles) is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on civic life, #148 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 El Paso de Robles (Paso Robles).
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.