Kettleman City’s library is a branch of Kings County Library, which lends less per resident than 88% of systems its size
Kettleman City’s library is the Kettleman City Library, a branch of Kings County Library, which serves 152,627 people and lent 216K items last year.
What Kettleman City’s library is like
The Kings County Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Kings County Library system records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $17 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Kings County Library system offered 375 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
The Kettleman City branch keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
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; Kettleman City’s library is a branch of Kings County Library, so they cover the whole system (152,627 people), not just the Kettleman City branch.
What’s behind Kettleman City’s civic life grade
Kettleman 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 Kings 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 Kettleman City
Kettleman City is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
0.6%
0.6% of Kettleman 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 Kettleman City’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Kings County Library serves 152,627 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Kings County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
216K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,300 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Kettleman City Library, 105 Becky Pease St., Kettleman City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Kings County Library branch.
New in Kettleman City? 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 $1.37 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kettleman City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 18,241 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Kettleman City Library is one branch of Kings County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 152,627 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 Kettleman City
Does Kettleman City have a public library?
Yes: Kettleman City Library, 105 Becky Pease St., is a branch of Kings County Library, which serves 152,627 people. The branch is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Kings 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 Kettleman City’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Kettleman City’s civic life grade?
Kettleman 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 Kings County Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Kettleman 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.