Photo: Patrick Pelletier · CC BY-SA 3.0Ojai’s library is a branch of Ventura County Library, which lends less per resident than 64% of systems its size
Ojai’s library is the Ojai Library, a branch of Ventura County Library, which serves 244,172 people and lent 731K items last year.
What Ojai’s library is like
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 68% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 52% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 3,018 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 15 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; Ojai’s library is a branch of Ventura County Library, so they cover the whole system (244,172 people), not just the Ojai branch.
What’s behind Ojai’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ojai is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #12 of 448 in California. Ojai is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ojai’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
92 community nonprofits are registered in Ojai
12.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (18 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.8%
10.8% of Ojai’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 Ojai’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Ventura County Library serves 244,172 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Ventura County Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ventura County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. 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
731K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
124,123 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 42 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
Ojai Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai.
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 Ventura County Library branch.
New in Ojai? 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 Ojai cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 141,565 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ojai | Ojai Library fine-free | — | 53 | A+ |
| Meiners Oaks | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Mira Monte | 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: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Ojai Library is one branch of Ventura County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 244,172 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 Ojai
Does Ojai have a public library?
Yes: Ojai Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave., is a branch of Ventura County Library, which serves 244,172 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ventura 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 Ojai’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Ojai’s civic life grade?
A+ Ojai is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on civic life, #12 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 Ojai.
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.