Kraft, Herbert, Memorial Free Library · Photo: NoeHill · CC BY-SA 3.0Red Bluff’s library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Tehama County Library serves 64,308 people in and around Red Bluff. Last year it lent 58K books, movies and e-books and drew 7,058 people to its programs.
Red Bluff’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Tehama County Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Tehama County Library offered 222 programs last year, 3.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 222 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 12 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Tehama County Library spends $13 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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; Tehama County Library serves 64,308 people in and around Red Bluff, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Red Bluff’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Red Bluff is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #72 of 448 in California. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Red Bluff 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.
The survey’s stand-in for Red Bluff’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
60 community nonprofits are registered in Red Bluff
4.1 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Red Bluff’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 Red Bluff’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Tehama County Library serves 64,308 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tehama County Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
58K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
21,828 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Tehama County Library, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff.
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 Tehama County Library branch.
New in Red Bluff? 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 $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Red Bluff cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $812K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $933K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $812K 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 16,295 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Tehama County Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- System-wide. Tehama County Library serves 64,308 people in and around Red Bluff, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Red Bluff.
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 Red Bluff
Does Red Bluff have a public library?
Yes. Tehama County Library, 545 Diamond Ave., serves 64,308 people in and around Red Bluff (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tehama 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 Red Bluff’s library?
It lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 222 programs that drew 7,058 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Red Bluff’s civic life grade?
A− Red Bluff is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #72 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 Red Bluff.
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.