Photo: Westpacificmovement · CC BY-SA 4.0Montclair’s library is a branch of San Bernardino County Library, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size
Montclair’s library is the Montclair Branch Library, a branch of San Bernardino County Library, which serves 1,258,391 people and lent 5.2M items last year.
Montclair’s library, in brief
Open only about 15 hours a week
The Montclair branch keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 76% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 67% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 8,368 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 51 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Montclair’s library is a branch of San Bernardino County Library, so they cover the whole system (1,258,391 people), not just the Montclair branch.
What’s behind Montclair’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Montclair has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Montclair is graded on two of the three inputs. Montclair’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$97K) 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 →
47 community nonprofits are registered in Montclair
1.2 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 (36 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.8%
2.8% of Montclair’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 Montclair’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
San Bernardino County Library serves 1,258,391 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 107 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole San Bernardino County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,182,034 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 106 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
Montclair Branch Library, 9955 Fremont Ave., Montclair.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every San Bernardino County Library branch.
New in Montclair? 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 $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Montclair cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $36M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $73M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $36M 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 298,125 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upland | Ovitt Family Community Library | 2.5 | 64 | D |
| Montclair | Montclair Branch Library | — | 15 | D− |
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: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Montclair Branch Library is one branch of San Bernardino County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,258,391 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 Montclair
Does Montclair have a public library?
Yes: Montclair Branch Library, 9955 Fremont Ave., is a branch of San Bernardino County Library, which serves 1,258,391 people. The branch is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Bernardino 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 Montclair’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 4.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Montclair’s civic life grade?
D− Montclair has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Montclair.
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.