Photo: City of Ukiah - Dept. of Recreation · Public domainUkiah’s library is a branch of Mendocino County Library, which lends more per resident than 61% of systems its size
Ukiah’s library is the Ukiah Branch Library, a branch of Mendocino County Library, which serves 89,476 people and lent 688K items last year.
The short version on Ukiah’s library
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Mendocino County Library system ran 3,107 programs last year, about 60 a week. That’s 35 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 37% 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; Ukiah’s library is a branch of Mendocino County Library, so they cover the whole system (89,476 people), not just the Ukiah branch.
What’s behind Ukiah’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ukiah is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #170 of 448 in California. Ukiah is graded on two of the three inputs. Ukiah’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$83K) 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 →
68 community nonprofits are registered in Ukiah
4.2 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 (16 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.
6.5%
6.5% of Ukiah’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 Ukiah’s residents live; 2022.
About 29 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mendocino County Library serves 89,476 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mendocino County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
688K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
257,816 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Ukiah
Ukiah Branch Library, 105 N. Main St., Ukiah.
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 Mendocino County Library branch.
New in Ukiah? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Mendocino County Library branches in Ukiah
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.36 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ukiah cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.6M 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 33,173 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Ukiah Branch Library is one branch of Mendocino County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 89,476 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 Ukiah
Does Ukiah have a public library?
Yes: Ukiah Branch Library, 105 N. Main St., is a branch of Mendocino County Library, which serves 89,476 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mendocino County 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 Ukiah’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Ukiah’s civic life grade?
C+ Ukiah is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #170 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 Ukiah.
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.