Photo: USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency · Public domainLancaster’s library is a branch of LA County Library, which lends less per resident than 82% of systems its size
Lancaster’s library is the Lancaster Library, a branch of LA County Library, which serves 3,248,285 people and lent 11M items last year.
Lancaster’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The LA County Library system offered 12,795 programs last year, 3.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Lancaster’s library is a branch of LA County Library, so they cover the whole system (3,248,285 people), not just the Lancaster branch.
What’s behind Lancaster’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lancaster is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns, #327 of 448 in California. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #316. Lancaster is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lancaster’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$102K) 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 →
442 community nonprofits are registered in Lancaster
2.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (229 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 26 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.9%
3.9% of Lancaster’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 Lancaster’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.
LA County Library serves 3,248,285 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole LA County Library system. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
11M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,997,082 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 140 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
Lancaster Library, 601 W. Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every LA County Library branch.
New in Lancaster? 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 Lancaster cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $195M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $169M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $195M 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 2,115,003 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmdale | Palmdale City Library fine-free | 1.0 | 56 | D− |
| Lancaster | Lancaster Library fine-free | — | 40 | D |
| Quartz Hill | Quartz Hill Library fine-free | — | 56 | — unincorporated |
| Leona Valley | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- System-wide. Lancaster Library is one branch of LA County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 3,248,285 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 Lancaster
Does Lancaster have a public library?
Yes: Lancaster Library, 601 W. Lancaster Blvd, is a branch of LA County Library, which serves 3,248,285 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is LA 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 Lancaster’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lancaster’s civic life grade?
D Lancaster is ahead of 7% of U.S. towns on civic life, #327 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 Lancaster.
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.