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Broad Street Downtown Area in Nevada City, CaliforniaPhoto: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Madelyn Helling County Library · part of Nevada County Library

Nevada City’s library is a branch of Nevada County Library, which lends more per resident than 63% of systems its size

Nevada City’s library is the Madelyn Helling County Library, a branch of Nevada County Library, which serves 100,177 people and lent 609K items last year.

980 Helling Way, Nevada City 95959 · about 49 hours a week
A+Civic lifeAmong the top 1% of U.S. towns · #9 of 448 in California. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (530) 265-7050 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
609K
6.1 per resident
Visits a year
158K
1.6 per resident · Below typical (2.1)
Programs & events
2,608
about 50 a week · 26K attended
Cardholders
35%
35,284 cards
Open
49 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

What Nevada City’s library is like

Three times the programs of a typical library its size

The Nevada County Library system ran 2,608 programs last year, about 50 a week. That’s 26 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓

A well-funded system

The Nevada County Library system spends $81 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (90%) 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; Nevada City’s library is a branch of Nevada County Library, so they cover the whole system (100,177 people), not just the Nevada City branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Nevada City’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Nevada City is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #9 of 448 in California. Nevada City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

A+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Nevada City’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureACommunity nonprofits7.3 per 1,000 residents · CA towns 3.1 · U.S. 3.7A+Volunteering18.1% of adults 25–44 · CA towns 5.9% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Among the top 1%
FewerMore
California towns we grade (448)Ahead of 98%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $57K–$95K (9,258)Ahead of 98%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Nevada City is small (3,174 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

23 community nonprofits are registered in Nevada City

7.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture41.29 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation20.60 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans41.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services41.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education31.07 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.25 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.63 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other31.01 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

18.1%

18.1% of Nevada City’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 Nevada City’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 26 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Nevada City →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5650
Ages 6–11711
Teens208
Adults1,039
All ages0
Little ones
12.5

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

149K
kids’ books & media borrowed
26K
people at programs
2,608
programs
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.6 visits · typical 2.1Lower than 70%
Borrowing per resident 4.2 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 63%
Digital borrowing 1.9 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 62%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 54%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 62%
Programs offered 26 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Top 10%
Cardholders 35% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 62%
Spending $81 per resident · typical $36Higher than 89%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Nevada County Library serves 100,177 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 57 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Nevada County Library system. The library’s own count.

158K
visits
1.6 per resident
609K
loans, print + digital
6.1 per resident
2,608
programs & events
26K attended
35K
library cards
35% of people served
Every open hour57items borrowed
Every week502people at a program
Every week3,033visits
38 staff (full-time equivalent)105 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

609K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

609Kloans
Books & media (adults) 44%Kids’ books & media 25%E-books, audio & streaming 31%
From your couch

191,696 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The buildings

3 places to borrow in Nevada City

Madelyn Helling County Library, 980 Helling Way, Nevada City.

Directions(530) 265-7050
49
hours open a week
17,000
square feet
With a card

No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Nevada County Library branch.

New in Nevada City? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Other Nevada County Library branches in Nevada City

Doris Foley Library for Historical Research211 N. Pine St. · 24 hrs a week · a National Register buildingNevada County Law Library201 Church St., Ste. 9 · a National Register building
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.17 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Nevada City cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$81 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.1M.

Local taxes 90%State 5%Federal 0%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.1M 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 35,284 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Madelyn Helling County Library is one branch of Nevada County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 100,177 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 Nevada City

Does Nevada City have a public library?

Yes: Madelyn Helling County Library, 980 Helling Way, is a branch of Nevada County Library, which serves 100,177 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Nevada 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 Nevada City’s library?

It logged 1.6 visits and lent 6.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Nevada City’s civic life grade?

A+ Nevada City is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 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 Nevada City.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.