Marin County Civic Center · Photo: Fizbin at en.wikipedia · Public domainSan Rafael’s library lends 5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
San Rafael Public Library serves San Rafael’s 59,585 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 461K books, movies and e-books and logged 183K visits.
San Rafael’s library, in brief
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 36% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Three places to borrow in San Rafael
San Rafael Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Rafael’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, San Rafael is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #133 of 448 in California. San Rafael’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 →
464 community nonprofits are registered in San Rafael
7.7 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 (79 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 26 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.1%
6.1% of San Rafael’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 Rafael’s residents live; 2022.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
461K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 94K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.2 times last year, on average.
165,308 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
San Rafael Public Library serves 59,585 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 75 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 3 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 Rafael last year.
5 places to borrow in San Rafael
San Rafael Public Library, 1100 E St., San Rafael.
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 Rafael? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in San Rafael
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average San Rafael cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.3M 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 28,323 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
San Rafael ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Anselmo | San Anselmo Public Library fine-free | 16.0 | 44 | A |
| Larkspur | Larkspur Public Library fine-free | 10.3 | 29 | A− |
| San Rafael | San Rafael Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 61 | B |
| Richmond | Richmond Public Library fine-free | 1.1 | 40 | D− |
| Santa Venetia | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Ross | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Kentfield | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Lucas Valley-Marinwood | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Sleepy Hollow | 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 San Rafael
Does San Rafael have a public library?
Yes. San Rafael Public Library, 1100 E St., serves San Rafael’s 59,585 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Rafael 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 Rafael’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is San Rafael’s civic life grade?
B San Rafael is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on civic life, #133 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 Rafael.
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.