Squaw Valley’s library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 78% of systems its size
Squaw Valley’s library is the Bear Mountain Branch Library, a branch of Fresno County Public Library, which serves 993,976 people and lent 3.1M items last year.
The short version on Squaw Valley’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 100,000+ people, the Fresno County Public Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. How it compares ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
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; Squaw Valley’s library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (993,976 people), not just the Squaw Valley branch.
What’s behind Squaw Valley’s civic life grade
Squaw Valley isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
12.4%
12.4% of Squaw Valley’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 Squaw Valley’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Fresno County Public Library serves 993,976 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Fresno County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
3.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,252,318 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 48 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Bear Mountain Branch Library, 30733 E. Kings Canyon Road, Squaw Valley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Fresno County Public Library branch.
New in Squaw Valley? 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 $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Squaw Valley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $35M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $47M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $35M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 167,355 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bear Mountain Branch Library is one branch of Fresno County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 993,976 people it serves.
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 Squaw Valley
Does Squaw Valley have a public library?
Yes: Bear Mountain Branch Library, 30733 E. Kings Canyon Road, is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, which serves 993,976 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fresno County Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Squaw Valley’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Squaw Valley’s civic life grade?
Squaw Valley isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Fresno County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Squaw Valley.
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.