Heber’s library is a branch of Imperial County Library, which lends less per resident than 82% of systems its size
Heber’s library is the Heber Branch Library, a branch of Imperial County Library, which serves 48,181 people and lent 68K items last year.
What Heber’s library is like
The Imperial County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Imperial County Library system records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $13 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 470 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
California pays a big share
25% of the budget comes from the state, and 51% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Imperial County Library system spends $13 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 4% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. 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; Heber’s library is a branch of Imperial County Library, so they cover the whole system (48,181 people), not just the Heber branch.
What’s behind Heber’s civic life grade
Heber 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 Imperial County 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 Heber
Heber is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
3.6%
3.6% of Heber’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 Heber’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Imperial County Library serves 48,181 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Imperial County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
68K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,456 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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
Heber Branch Library, 1132 Heber Ave., Heber.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Imperial County Library branch.
New in Heber? 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 $1.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Heber cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $644K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $644K 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 16,588 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Heber Branch Library is one branch of Imperial County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 48,181 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 Heber
Does Heber have a public library?
Yes: Heber Branch Library, 1132 Heber Ave., is a branch of Imperial County Library, which serves 48,181 people. The branch is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Imperial County 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 Heber’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Heber’s civic life grade?
Heber 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 Imperial County Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Heber.
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.