Empire’s library is a branch of Stanislaus County Free Library, which lends less per resident than 68% of systems its size
Empire’s library is the Empire Library, a branch of Stanislaus County Free Library, which serves 548,744 people and lent 1.5M items last year.
The short version on Empire’s library
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 2,616 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 19 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 62% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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; Empire’s library is a branch of Stanislaus County Free Library, so they cover the whole system (548,744 people), not just the Empire branch.
What’s behind Empire’s civic life grade
Empire 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 Stanislaus County Free 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 Empire
Empire is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
4.7%
4.7% of Empire’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 Empire’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Stanislaus County Free Library serves 548,744 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 68 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Stanislaus County Free Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
250,991 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 39 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
Empire Library, 98 I Street, Empire.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Stanislaus County Free Library branch.
New in Empire? 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 $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Empire cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $15M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15M 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 330,492 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empire | Empire Library | — | 30 | — unincorporated |
| Modesto | Stanislaus County Law Library fine-free | — | 78 | D |
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. Empire Library is one branch of Stanislaus County Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 548,744 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 Empire
Does Empire have a public library?
Yes: Empire Library, 98 I Street, is a branch of Stanislaus County Free Library, which serves 548,744 people. The branch is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stanislaus County Free Library 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 Empire’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Empire’s civic life grade?
Empire 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 Stanislaus County Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Empire.
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.