Photo: JacobSA2019 · CC BY-SA 4.0Imperial’s library runs 32 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Imperial Public Library serves Imperial’s 22,141 residents. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
The short version on Imperial’s library
Imperial Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Imperial Public Library records 1.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 87% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Imperial Public Library holds 32,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. 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 Imperial’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Imperial is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns, #357 of 448 in California. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Imperial’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Imperial’s 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($68K–$113K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Imperial
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.4%
4.4% of Imperial’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 Imperial’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Imperial Public Library serves 22,141 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. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
2,738 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Imperial last year.
Find it
Imperial Public Library, 200 W. 9th St., Imperial.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Imperial? 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 Imperial cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $620K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $348K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $620K 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 9,354 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 Centro | El Centro Public Library | 0.9 | 48 | D− |
| Imperial | Imperial Public Library fine-free | 0.8 | 40 | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Imperial Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Imperial
Does Imperial have a public library?
Yes. Imperial Public Library, 200 W. 9th St., serves Imperial’s 22,141 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Imperial Public 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 Imperial’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Imperial’s civic life grade?
D− Imperial is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life, #357 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 Imperial.
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.