Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0Hamilton City’s library is a branch of Orland Free Library, which lends less per resident than 82% of systems its size
Hamilton City’s library is the Hamilton City Chester Walker Memorial Library, a branch of Orland Free Library, which serves 16,073 people and lent 32K items last year.
The short version on Hamilton City’s library
Programs are almost all for children
99% of the 87 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 40 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The Orland Free Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Orland Free Library system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Orland Free Library system offered 87 programs last year, 5.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
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; Hamilton City’s library is a branch of Orland Free Library, so they cover the whole system (16,073 people), not just the Hamilton City branch.
What’s behind Hamilton City’s civic life grade
Hamilton City 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 Orland 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 Hamilton City
Hamilton City is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
2.4%
2.4% of Hamilton City’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 Hamilton City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Orland Free Library serves 16,073 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Orland Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6,497 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 2 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
Hamilton City Chester Walker Memorial Library, 330 Broadway, Hamilton City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Orland Free Library branch.
New in Hamilton City? 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 Hamilton City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $559K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $497K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $559K 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 10,587 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hamilton City Chester Walker Memorial Library is one branch of Orland Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 16,073 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 Hamilton City
Does Hamilton City have a public library?
Yes: Hamilton City Chester Walker Memorial Library, 330 Broadway, is a branch of Orland Free Library, which serves 16,073 people.
Is Orland Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hamilton City’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hamilton City’s civic life grade?
Hamilton City 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 Orland Free Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Hamilton City.
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.