Photo: Mliu92 · CC BY-SA 3.0San Bruno’s library lends 7.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
San Bruno Public Library serves San Bruno’s 42,152 residents. Last year it lent 377K books, movies and e-books and logged 128K visits.
What San Bruno’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 252 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 82,000 items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average. 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 San Bruno’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, San Bruno is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #263 of 448 in California. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($106K–$177K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
85 community nonprofits are registered in San Bruno
2.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (39 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.8%
4.8% of San Bruno’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 San Bruno’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
377K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 82K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average.
46,327 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
San Bruno Public Library serves 42,152 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 139 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 4 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 San Bruno last year.
Find it
San Bruno Public Library, 701 Angus Ave. W., San Bruno.
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 San Bruno? 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 $2.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average San Bruno cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 25,339 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Bruno | San Bruno Public Library fine-free | 8.9 | 52 | D |
| South San Francisco | South San Francisco Main Library fine-free | 6.9 | 51 | C− |
| Millbrae | Millbrae Library fine-free | — | 57 | C+ |
| Pacifica | Pacifica Library fine-free | — | 57 | 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.
- 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 San Bruno
Does San Bruno have a public library?
Yes. San Bruno Public Library, 701 Angus Ave. W., serves San Bruno’s 42,152 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Bruno 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 San Bruno’s library?
It logged 3.0 visits and lent 8.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is San Bruno’s civic life grade?
D San Bruno is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #263 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 San Bruno.
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.