Photo: Ellin Beltz · CC BY-SA 3.0Ferndale’s library is a branch of Humboldt County Library, which lends less per resident than 59% of systems its size
Ferndale’s library is the Ferndale Library, a branch of Humboldt County Library, which serves 133,100 people and lent 494K items last year.
Ferndale’s library, in brief
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
122,767 cards for 133,100 people, or 92%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Ferndale Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990. Today’s library there has 1,800 square feet. The building ↓
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; Ferndale’s library is a branch of Humboldt County Library, so they cover the whole system (133,100 people), not just the Ferndale branch.
What’s behind Ferndale’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ferndale is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. Ferndale is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ferndale’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Ferndale
22.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.4%
8.4% of Ferndale’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 Ferndale’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Humboldt County Library serves 133,100 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 33 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Humboldt County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
494K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
132,526 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 18 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.
A National Register landmark since 1990
Ferndale Library, 807 Main Street, Ferndale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Humboldt County Library branch.
New in Ferndale? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Ferndale Public Library
Ferndale Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 10, 1990. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of California Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Ferndale Public Library was built in 1909 as a Carnegie Grant Library on donated land and supported by the city of Ferndale, California, until becoming part of the Humboldt County Library system in 1915. It is the only Carnegie Library in northwestern California still functioning as a Public Library.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ferndale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.9M 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 122,767 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Ferndale Library is one branch of Humboldt County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 133,100 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 Ferndale
Does Ferndale have a public library?
Yes: Ferndale Library, 807 Main Street, is a branch of Humboldt County Library, which serves 133,100 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Humboldt 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 Ferndale’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Ferndale’s civic life grade?
A Ferndale is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Ferndale.
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.