Photo: Wehwalt · CC BY-SA 3.0South Pasadena’s library logs 8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
South Pasadena Public Library serves South Pasadena’s 26,270 residents. Last year it lent 375K books, movies and e-books and logged 211K visits.
What South Pasadena’s library is like
South Pasadena uses its library more than almost any town its size
South Pasadena Public Library logs 8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 12 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 29 items per child in South Pasadena last year. Kids & programs ↓
South Pasadena out-borrows every town next door
At 14 loans per resident, South Pasadena leads the five towns here. The closest is San Marino, at 11. Libraries next door ↓
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 South Pasadena’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Pasadena is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #64 of 448 in California. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
100 community nonprofits are registered in South Pasadena
3.8 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 (37 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 15 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of South Pasadena’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 South Pasadena’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 131 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
South Pasadena Public Library serves 26,270 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
375K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 118K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.7 times last year, on average.
54,070 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 South Pasadena last year.
Find it
South Pasadena Public Library, 1100 Oxley St., South Pasadena.
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 South Pasadena? 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 $2.74 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Pasadena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 17,426 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Pasadena borrows the most per resident of the 5 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Pasadena | South Pasadena Public Library fine-free | 14.3 | 55 | A− |
| San Marino | Crowell Public Library | 11.0 | 59 | A |
| Los Angeles | Central Library fine-free | 6.7 | 57 | D |
| Pasadena | Hastings Branch Library fine-free | 4.9 | 54 | B |
| Alhambra | Alhambra Public Library | 3.9 | 60 | C− |
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 South Pasadena
Does South Pasadena have a public library?
Yes. South Pasadena Public Library, 1100 Oxley St., serves South Pasadena’s 26,270 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Pasadena 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 South Pasadena’s library?
It logged 8.0 visits and lent 14.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is South Pasadena’s civic life grade?
A− South Pasadena is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #64 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 South Pasadena.
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.