Photo: Coolcaesar at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0South San Francisco’s library logs 5.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
South San Francisco Public Library serves South San Francisco’s 64,601 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 448K books, movies and e-books and logged 331K visits.
What South San Francisco’s library is like
People come to South San Francisco Public Library a lot
South San Francisco Public Library logs 5.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
South San Francisco invests in its library
South San Francisco Public Library spends $132 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Three places to borrow in South San Francisco
South San Francisco 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 South San Francisco’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South San Francisco is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #223 of 448 in California. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($102K–$171K) 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 →
123 community nonprofits are registered in South San Francisco
1.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (47 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.4%
4.4% of South 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 South San Francisco’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 70 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 San Francisco Public Library serves 64,601 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
448K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 100K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.5 times last year, on average.
100,489 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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 San Francisco last year.
3 places to borrow in South San Francisco
South San Francisco Main Library, 840 W. Orange Ave., South 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 South San Francisco? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in South San Francisco
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South San Francisco cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.5M 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 39,829 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South San Francisco ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. 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− |
| Daly City | Serramonte Main Library fine-free | 4.3 | 46 | D |
| Pacifica | Pacifica Library fine-free | — | 57 | B− |
| Brisbane | Brisbane Library fine-free | — | 57 | B+ |
| Oakland | Oakland Main Library fine-free | — | 58 | A− |
| Colma | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 San Francisco
Does South San Francisco have a public library?
Yes. South San Francisco Public Library, 840 W. Orange Ave., serves South San Francisco’s 64,601 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South 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 South San Francisco’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 6.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is South San Francisco’s civic life grade?
C− South San Francisco is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #223 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 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.