Hagemann Ranch Historic District · Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0Livermore’s library lends 8.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Livermore Public Library serves Livermore’s 84,828 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 835K books, movies and e-books and logged 324K visits.
Livermore’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 22 items per child in Livermore last year. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 1,290 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 14 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Three places to borrow in Livermore
Livermore Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
75% of Livermore carry a library card
63,220 cards for 84,828 people, or 75%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. 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.
What’s behind Livermore’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Livermore is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #194 of 448 in California. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($121K–$201K) 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 →
289 community nonprofits are registered in Livermore
3.4 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 (71 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 17 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.4%
5.4% of Livermore’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 Livermore’s residents live; 2022.
About 17 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 Livermore last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Livermore Public Library serves 84,828 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 155 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
835K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 199K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.6 times last year, on average.
125,841 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
3 places to borrow in Livermore
Civic Center Library, 1188 S. Livermore Ave., Livermore.
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 Livermore? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Livermore
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Livermore cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.9M 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 63,220 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasanton | Pleasanton Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 61 | B |
| Livermore | Civic Center Library fine-free | 9.8 | 63 | C |
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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Livermore
Does Livermore have a public library?
Yes. Livermore Public Library, 1188 S. Livermore Ave., serves Livermore’s 84,828 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Livermore 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 Livermore’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 9.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Livermore’s civic life grade?
C Livermore is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #194 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 Livermore.
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.