Photo: Perfect Zero from Los Angeles, CA, US · CC BY 2.0Mammoth Lakes’ library is a branch of Mono County Free Library, which lends less per resident than 65% of systems its size
Mammoth Lakes’s library is the Mammoth Lakes Library, a branch of Mono County Free Library, which serves 12,861 people and lent 52K items last year.
Mammoth Lakes’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
16,168 cards for 12,861 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Mono County Free Library system ran 781 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 61 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 781 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Mono County Free Library system spends $128 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Mammoth Lakes’s library is a branch of Mono County Free Library, so they cover the whole system (12,861 people), not just the Mammoth Lakes branch.
What’s behind Mammoth Lakes’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mammoth Lakes is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #108 of 448 in California. Mammoth Lakes is graded on two of the three inputs. Mammoth Lakes’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
56 community nonprofits are registered in Mammoth Lakes
7.8 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 (6 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.
6.1%
6.1% of Mammoth Lakes’ 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 Mammoth Lakes’ residents live; 2022.
About 11 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Mono County Free Library serves 12,861 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mono County Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
52K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
15,855 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mammoth Lakes Library, 400 Sierra Park Road, Mammoth Lakes.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mono County Free Library branch.
New in Mammoth Lakes? 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 Mammoth Lakes cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $916K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 16,168 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Mammoth Lakes Library is one branch of Mono County Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,861 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 Mammoth Lakes
Does Mammoth Lakes have a public library?
Yes: Mammoth Lakes Library, 400 Sierra Park Road, is a branch of Mono County Free Library, which serves 12,861 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mono County Free 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 Mammoth Lakes’ library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Mammoth Lakes’ civic life grade?
B Mammoth Lakes is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on civic life, #108 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 Mammoth Lakes.
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.