U.S. Post Office and Courthouse · Photo: James Knox Taylor · Public domainSan Francisco’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries its size
San Francisco Public Library serves San Francisco’s 843,071 residents from 28 locations. Last year it lent 14M books, movies and e-books and logged 4M visits.
The short version on San Francisco’s library
San Francisco uses its library more than almost any town its size
San Francisco Public Library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 8.9 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
28 places to borrow in San Francisco
San Francisco Public Library runs 28 locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
46% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 46% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 54%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
San Francisco invests in its library
San Francisco Public Library spends $199 per resident a year, about six times the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 32 items per child in San Francisco last year. Kids & programs ↓
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 Francisco’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, San Francisco is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #78 of 448 in California. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #29. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; San Francisco’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
4,053 community nonprofits are registered in San Francisco
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (736 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 291 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.5%
8.5% of San Francisco’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 Francisco’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 191 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
San Francisco Public Library serves 843,071 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
46% of borrowing is digital
14M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 2.4M books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.1 times last year, on average.
6,502,380 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 129 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 Francisco last year.
29 places to borrow in San Francisco
San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco.
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 Francisco? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in San Francisco
And 16 more in San Francisco.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.31 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average San Francisco cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $168M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $168M 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 455,211 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
San Francisco ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | Berkeley Public Library - Central fine-free | 19.1 | 45 | A+ |
| San Francisco | San Francisco Main Library fine-free | 16.6 | 58 | A− |
| Alameda | Alameda Free Library fine-free | 9.3 | 54 | B+ |
| Daly City | Serramonte Main Library fine-free | 4.3 | 46 | D |
| Richmond | Richmond Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 40 | D− |
| Brisbane | Brisbane Library fine-free | — | 57 | B+ |
| Tiburon | Belvedere-Tiburon Library fine-free | — | 49 | A+ |
| Albany | Albany Library fine-free | — | 39 | A− |
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 Francisco
Does San Francisco have a public library?
Yes. San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin St., serves San Francisco’s 843,071 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Francisco 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 Francisco’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 16.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is San Francisco’s civic life grade?
A− San Francisco is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on civic life, #78 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 Francisco.
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.