Photo: Funhistory at English Wikipedia · Public domainRedondo Beach’s library lends 5.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Redondo Beach Public Library serves Redondo Beach’s 68,239 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 378K books, movies and e-books and logged 208K visits.
Redondo Beach’s library, in brief
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Redondo Beach Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. All four libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 393 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 86% of similar-size libraries. The print collection works hard: each item went out about 2.3 times last year. What people borrow ↓
75% of Redondo Beach carry a library card
51,134 cards for 68,239 people, or 75%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Redondo Beach’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Redondo Beach is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #160 of 448 in California. Redondo Beach’s 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 →
305 community nonprofits are registered in Redondo Beach
4.4 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 (55 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 16 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.9%
6.9% of Redondo Beach’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 Redondo Beach’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Redondo Beach Public Library serves 68,239 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 88 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
378K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 159K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
20,309 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Redondo Beach last year.
2 places to borrow in Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach Public Library, 303 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Redondo Beach? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Redondo Beach
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Redondo Beach cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.5M 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 51,134 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 |
| Redondo Beach | Redondo Beach Public Library | 5.5 | 46 | B− |
| Hermosa Beach | Hermosa Beach Library fine-free | — | 40 | B+ |
| Manhattan Beach | Manhattan Beach Library fine-free | — | 58 | B− |
| Lawndale | Lawndale Library fine-free | — | 40 | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Redondo Beach
Does Redondo Beach have a public library?
Yes. Redondo Beach Public Library, 303 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, serves Redondo Beach’s 68,239 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Redondo Beach Public 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 Redondo Beach’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 5.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Redondo Beach’s civic life grade?
B− Redondo Beach is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on civic life, #160 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 Redondo Beach.
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.