Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0California’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Moniteau County Library serves 12,553 people in and around California. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 9,256 visits.
What California’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 194 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
30% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 64%. What your card is worth ↓
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; Moniteau County Library serves 12,553 people in and around California, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind California’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, California is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #16 of 229 in Missouri. California is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; California’s count of community nonprofits ranks 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in California
7.8 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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.5%
10.5% of California’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.3% in the typical Missouri 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 California’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Moniteau County Library serves 12,553 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Moniteau County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,928 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Moniteau County Library, 501 S. Oak St., California.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Moniteau County Library branch.
New in California? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average California cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $195K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $469K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $195K 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 5,691 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Moniteau County Library serves 12,553 people in and around California, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just California.
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 California
Does California have a public library?
Yes. Moniteau County Library, 501 S. Oak St., serves 12,553 people in and around California (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Moniteau 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 California’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is California’s civic life grade?
A California is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #16 of 229 in Missouri. 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 California.
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.