Photo: Abby Lanes · CC BY-SA 3.0Palos Verdes Estates’ library is a branch of Palos Verdes Library District, which lends more per resident than 95% of systems its size
Palos Verdes Estates’s library is the Malaga Cove Library, a branch of Palos Verdes Library District, which serves 66,110 people and lent 1M items last year.
The short version on Palos Verdes Estates’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Palos Verdes Library District system logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
71,332 cards for 66,110 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1995. Today’s library there has 15,000 square feet. The building ↓
A well-funded system
The Palos Verdes Library District system spends $161 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) 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; Palos Verdes Estates’s library is a branch of Palos Verdes Library District, so they cover the whole system (66,110 people), not just the Palos Verdes Estates branch.
What’s behind Palos Verdes Estates’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Palos Verdes Estates is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #100 of 448 in California. Palos Verdes Estates is graded on two of the three inputs. Palos Verdes Estates’ 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 →
107 community nonprofits are registered in Palos Verdes Estates
8.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.2%
6.2% of Palos Verdes Estates’ 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 Palos Verdes Estates’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 149 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Palos Verdes Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Palos Verdes Library District serves 66,110 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
156,453 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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.
A National Register landmark since 1995
Malaga Cove Library, 2400 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Palos Verdes Library District branch.
New in Palos Verdes Estates? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery
Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 7, 1995. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Mediterranean Revival.
The Palos Verdes Public Library and Art Gallery is a historic building in Palos Verdes Estates, California. It was built in 1929–1930 and designed in the Mediterranean Revival style by architects Myron Hunt and Harold C. Chambers. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since April 7, 1995.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.46 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palos Verdes Estates cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $15M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 71,332 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torrance | Katy Geissert Civic Center Library fine-free | 5.8 | 45 | C |
| Palos Verdes Estates | Malaga Cove Library fine-free | — | 40 | B+ |
| Rancho Palos Verdes | Miraleste Library fine-free | — | 40 | C |
| Rolling Hills Estates | Peninsula Center Library fine-free | — | 52 | B+ |
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.
- System-wide. Malaga Cove Library is one branch of Palos Verdes Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 66,110 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 Palos Verdes Estates
Does Palos Verdes Estates have a public library?
Yes: Malaga Cove Library, 2400 Via Campesina, is a branch of Palos Verdes Library District, which serves 66,110 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Palos Verdes Library District 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 Palos Verdes Estates’ library?
It logged 12.0 visits and lent 15.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Palos Verdes Estates’ civic life grade?
B+ Palos Verdes Estates is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #100 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 Palos Verdes Estates.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.