Photo: en:User:Squirrel 22 · Public domainSausalito’s library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Sausalito Public Library serves Sausalito’s 6,856 residents. Last year it lent 116K books, movies and e-books and logged 62K visits.
What Sausalito’s library is like
Sausalito uses its library more than almost any town its size
Sausalito Public Library logs 9.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
85% of the 163 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 6.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Top 10% in California for kids’ borrowing
Sausalito ranks #8 of 117 California towns with a library of their own for children’s items borrowed per child. How it compares ↓
Sausalito invests in its library
Sausalito Public Library spends $128 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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 Sausalito’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sausalito is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #16 of 448 in California. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Sausalito’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 →
136 community nonprofits are registered in Sausalito
19.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (16 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.
9.2%
9.2% of Sausalito’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 Sausalito’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
116K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
43,562 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Sausalito Public Library serves 6,856 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 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 Sausalito last year.
Find it
Sausalito Public Library, 420 Litho St., Sausalito.
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 Sausalito? 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 $2.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sausalito cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $877K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $877K 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 5,221 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sausalito | Sausalito Public Library fine-free | 17.0 | 49 | A+ |
| Tamalpais-Homestead Valley | 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 Sausalito
Does Sausalito have a public library?
Yes. Sausalito Public Library, 420 Litho St., serves Sausalito’s 6,856 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sausalito 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 Sausalito’s library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 17.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sausalito’s civic life grade?
A+ Sausalito is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on civic life, #16 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 Sausalito.
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.