Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0Larkspur’s library lends 6.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Larkspur Public Library serves Larkspur’s 12,655 residents. Last year it lent 130K books, movies and e-books and drew 4,227 people to its programs.
What stands out about Larkspur’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Larkspur’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Larkspur is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #74 of 448 in California. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Larkspur is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Larkspur’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Larkspur’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2021 figure, so it is left out.
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 →
70 community nonprofits are registered in Larkspur
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Larkspur’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 Larkspur’s residents live; 2022.
41% of borrowing is digital
130K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 45K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
53,121 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Larkspur Public Library serves 12,655 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 90 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Larkspur last year.
Find it
Larkspur Public Library, 400 Magnolia Ave, Larkspur.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Larkspur? 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 $2.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Larkspur cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $876K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $876K 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 6,058 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Larkspur ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Valley | Mill Valley Public Library fine-free | 21.3 | 55 | A+ |
| Larkspur | Larkspur Public Library fine-free | 10.3 | 29 | A− |
| San Rafael | San Rafael Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 61 | B |
| Corte Madera | Corte Madera Library fine-free | — | 55 | A− |
| Kentfield | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Larkspur Public Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2021 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 Larkspur
Does Larkspur have a public library?
Yes. Larkspur Public Library, 400 Magnolia Ave, serves Larkspur’s 12,655 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Larkspur 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 Larkspur’s library?
It lent 10.3 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 134 programs that drew 4,227 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Larkspur’s civic life grade?
A− Larkspur is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #74 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 Larkspur.
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.