John Dielmann House · Photo: BriefEdits · CC BY-SA 4.0Redwood City’s library logs 9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Redwood City Public Library serves Redwood City’s 81,863 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 1M books, movies and e-books and logged 736K visits.
Redwood City’s library, in brief
Redwood City uses its library more than almost any town its size
Redwood City Public Library logs 9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 9.2 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Redwood City Public Library ran 3,634 programs last year, about 70 a week. That’s 44 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 95,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 27 items per child in Redwood City last year. Kids & programs ↓
Redwood City invests in its library
Redwood City Public Library spends $141 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Redwood City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Redwood City is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #138 of 448 in California. Library visits hold 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 →
303 community nonprofits are registered in Redwood City
3.7 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 (57 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.2%
5.2% of Redwood 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 Redwood City’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 122 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Redwood City Public Library serves 81,863 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.
Each of the 207K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.6 times last year, on average.
250,606 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 40 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 Redwood City last year.
4 places to borrow in Redwood City
Redwood City Public Library, 1044 Middlefield Road, Redwood City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Redwood City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Redwood City
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Redwood City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $12M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $23M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $12M 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 65,441 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menlo Park | Menlo Park Public Library fine-free | 20.7 | 54 | B+ |
| Redwood City | Redwood City Public Library fine-free | 12.3 | 63 | B− |
| Woodside | Woodside Library fine-free | — | 57 | B+ |
| San Carlos | San Carlos Library fine-free | — | 57 | A− |
| North Fair Oaks | North Fair Oaks Library fine-free | — | 57 | — unincorporated |
| Foster City | Foster City Library fine-free | — | 57 | C− |
| Belmont | Belmont Library fine-free | — | 57 | C |
| Atherton | Atherton Library fine-free | — | 57 | B |
| Emerald Lake Hills | 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.
- 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 Redwood City
Does Redwood City have a public library?
Yes. Redwood City Public Library, 1044 Middlefield Road, serves Redwood City’s 81,863 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Redwood City Public 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 Redwood City’s library?
It logged 9.0 visits and lent 12.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Redwood City’s civic life grade?
B− Redwood City is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life, #138 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 Redwood City.
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.