Photo: Rich Shelton · Public domainTiburon’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Belvedere-Tiburon Library serves 10,852 people in and around Tiburon. Last year it lent 156K books, movies and e-books and logged 143K visits.
The short version on Tiburon’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Belvedere-Tiburon Library ran 786 programs last year, about 15 a week. That’s 72 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 14,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Belvedere-Tiburon Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 8.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. It’s 39% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Belvedere-Tiburon Library spends $283 per resident a year, about seven times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; Belvedere-Tiburon Library serves 10,852 people in and around Tiburon, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Tiburon’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tiburon is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #19 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 →
80 community nonprofits are registered in Tiburon
8.9 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Tiburon’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 Tiburon’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 61 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Belvedere-Tiburon Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Belvedere-Tiburon Library serves 10,852 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
156K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
60,399 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, 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
Belvedere-Tiburon Library, 1501 Tiburon Blvd, Tiburon.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Belvedere-Tiburon Library branch.
New in Tiburon? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tiburon cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 7,077 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | San Francisco Main Library fine-free | 16.6 | 58 | A− |
| Tiburon | Belvedere-Tiburon Library fine-free | — | 49 | A+ |
| Corte Madera | Corte Madera Library fine-free | — | 55 | A− |
| Belvedere | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Strawberry | 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.
- System-wide. Belvedere-Tiburon Library serves 10,852 people in and around Tiburon, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Tiburon.
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 Tiburon
Does Tiburon have a public library?
Yes. Belvedere-Tiburon Library, 1501 Tiburon Blvd, serves 10,852 people in and around Tiburon (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Belvedere-Tiburon 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 Tiburon’s library?
It logged 13.1 visits and lent 14.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Tiburon’s civic life grade?
A+ Tiburon is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #19 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 Tiburon.
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.