Beringer Brothers-Los Hermanos Winery · Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0St. Helena’s library lends 22 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
St. Helena Public Library serves St. Helena’s 5,314 residents. Last year it lent 157K books, movies and e-books and logged 64K visits.
What St. Helena’s library is like
St. Helena ranks 2nd in California for borrowing
Out of 117 California towns with a library of their own, St. Helena comes 2nd for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #4 for kids’ borrowing and #8 for library use. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
6,436 cards for 5,314 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
St. Helena uses its library more than almost any town its size
St. Helena Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 22 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 46% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 51 items per child in St. Helena last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 7.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. 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.
What’s behind St. Helena’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, St. Helena is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #68 of 448 in California. St. Helena’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 →
93 community nonprofits are registered in St. Helena
17.5 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of St. Helena’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 St. Helena’s residents live; 2022.
About 1 kids’ program 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 St. Helena last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
St. Helena Public Library serves 5,314 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 71 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
157K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 47K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times last year, on average.
37,576 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
St. Helena Public Library, 1492 Library Lane, St. Helena.
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 St. Helena? 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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average St. Helena cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 6,436 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Helena | St. Helena Public Library fine-free | 29.5 | 42 | A− |
| Deer Park | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 St. Helena
Does St. Helena have a public library?
Yes. St. Helena Public Library, 1492 Library Lane, serves St. Helena’s 5,314 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Helena 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 St. Helena’s library?
It logged 12.1 visits and lent 29.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is St. Helena’s civic life grade?
A− St. Helena is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #68 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 St. Helena.
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.