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Downtown Calgary Alberta Canada Wildfire Smoke - 2023Photo: Dwayne Reilander · CC BY-SA 4.0
Libraries · Calgary

At 12.7 loans per person served, Calgary Public Library lends more than 82% of Alberta’s town libraries

From 27 branches, Calgary Public Library serves 1,285,711 people. 3.8 visits per person served came through its doors in 2022. Alberta’s open library statistics stop at 2022, so these are its 2022 figures.

–Civic lifeNot graded
DirectionsLibrary websiteAll its libraries
Visits a year
4,909,275
3.8 per person served
Borrowed a year
16,347,892
12.7 per person served
Cardholders
58%
750,719 cards
Libraries
27
Charities
1,993
1.2 per 1,000 residents
Civic life grade

The three inputs behind a civic life grade for Calgary

Not graded: a city is graded through its neighbourhoods, each on its own figures.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Calgary’s overall grade.
–Library visits3.8 per resident · Alberta towns 3.6–Charities1.2 per 1,000 · Alberta towns 1.3 · Canada 1.4–Volunteering37.1% of residents · all of Alberta, 2023

Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.

Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.

Places to belong

1,993 registered charities are based in Calgary, by mailing address

It works out to 1.2 per 1,000 residents, where the typical Alberta town has 1.3 and Canada’s 1.4. Charities are placed by mailing address, which flatters service towns whose post office serves a region and undercounts suburbs and rural municipalities.

Volunteering

37.1%

No town-level count exists, so the page uses Alberta as a whole: 37.1% volunteered formally in 2023, between 35.1% and 39.2%, while the provinces span 25.2% to 40.3%.

Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.

How it compares

Ahead of most of Alberta’s town libraries on all 3 measures

Per person served, against the 118 town libraries in Alberta’s 2022 statistics.

Visits per person served 3.8 visits · typical 3.6Higher than 54%
Loans per person served 12.7 items · typical 8.1Higher than 82%
Cardholders 58% of people served · typical 20%Top 10%
Fewer per personMore per person
Who is compared

Town libraries only; regional systems left out.

A year at the library

About 13,450 visits a day

Everything counted at Calgary Public Library in 2022: visits, loans and cards.

4,909,275
in-person visits
3.8 per person served
16,347,892
items borrowed
12.7 per person served
750,719
cardholders
58% of people served
Every week94,409visits
Every day44,789items borrowed
1,285,711 people served
The libraries

27 public libraries in Calgary

In order of distance from the centre of Calgary, as the crow flies.

0.1kmCalgary Public Library - Memorial ParkWebsite →0.9kmW.R. Castell Central LibraryDirections →1kmCalgary Central LibraryWebsite →2.6kmCalgary Public Library - Giuffre FamilyWebsite →3kmReg Erhardt LibraryDirections →3.8kmCalgary Public Library - Louise Riley BranchWebsite →4.8kmCalgary Public Library - Nicholls FamilyWebsite →5kmWestbrook LibraryDirections →5.5kmHealth Sciences LibraryWebsite →6kmTaylor Family Digital LibraryDirections →7.1kmCalgary Public Library - Forest LawnWebsite →7.4kmGlenmore Square LibraryDirections →7.9kmCalgary Public Library - Judith Umbach branch (Thorncliffe)Website →7.9kmCalgary Public Library - Nose HillWebsite →8kmCalgary Public Library - Signal HillWebsite →8.7kmCalgary Public Library - SouthwoodWebsite →8.7kmCalgary Public Library - Village SquareDirections →9.6kmCalgary Public Library - BownessWebsite →9.9kmCalgary Public Library - Quarry ParkDirections →9.9kmCalgary Public Library - Fish CreekWebsite →12kmCalgary Public Library - SaddletowneWebsite →13kmCalgary Public Library - Country HillsDirections →13kmCalgary Public Library - CrowfootWebsite →15kmCalgary Public Library - Prototype: SkyviewDirections →15kmSage Hill Public LibraryDirections →16kmCalgary Public Library - ShawnessyWebsite →20kmSeton Calgary Public LibraryDirections →
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Per person served. Rather than Calgary’s census count, the rates use the population the library board says it serves.

Questions about the library and civic life in Calgary

Does Calgary have a public library?

Yes, 27: Calgary Central Library, Calgary Public Library - Bowness, Calgary Public Library - Crowfoot, Calgary Public Library - Fish Creek and 23 more.

How busy is Calgary Public Library?

The 2022 totals: 4,909,275 in-person visits, 16,347,892 loans.

Library statistics: Alberta public library statistics, 2022. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).