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Lake Tahoe Branch Library · part of Douglas County Public Library

Skyland’s library is a branch of Douglas County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 59% of systems its size

Skyland’s library is the Lake Tahoe Branch Library, a branch of Douglas County Public Library, which serves 54,343 people and lent 166K items last year.

233 Warrior Way, Zephyr Cove 89448 · about 32 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
166K
3 per resident
Visits a year
72K
1.3 per resident · Below typical (2.6)
Programs & events
728
about 14 a week · 9,153 attended
Cardholders
63%
34,236 cards
Open
32 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Lake Tahoe Branch Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Skyland’s civic life grade

Skyland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Skyland’s overall grade.

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 →

★ What stands out · How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 1.3 visits · typical 2.6Lower than 81%
Borrowing per resident 3 print items · typical 3.7Lower than 59%
Kids’ borrowing 0.6 kids’ items · typical 1.7Lower than 79%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.3Lower than 78%
Programs offered 13.4 per 1,000 residents · typical 14Lower than 54%
Cardholders 63% of residents · typical 39%Higher than 82%
Spending $35 per resident · typical $40Lower than 57%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Douglas County Public Library serves 54,343 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Douglas County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

72K
visits
1.3 per resident
166K
loans, print + digital
3 per resident
728
programs & events
9,153 attended
34K
library cards
63% of people served
Every open hour37items borrowed
Every week176people at a program
Every day83Wi-Fi sessions
16 staff (full-time equivalent)19 public computers
What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

166K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

166Kloans
Books & media (adults) 79%Kids’ books & media 21%
From your couch

Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 7 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Skyland →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5205
Ages 6–11171
Teens118
Adults230
All ages4
Little ones
3.9

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

35K
kids’ books & media borrowed
9,153
people at programs
728
programs
The building

Find it

Lake Tahoe Branch Library, 233 Warrior Way, Zephyr Cove.

32
hours open a week
5,875
square feet
With a card

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 Douglas County Public Library branch.

New in Skyland? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.48 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Skyland cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$35 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.

Local taxes 98%State 0%Federal 0%Gifts & other 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 34,236 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
SkylandLake Tahoe Branch Library fine-free—32— under 1,000 residents
Zephyr CoveNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
LakeridgeNone of its own——— under 1,000 residents
KingsburyNone 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).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
  • System-wide. Lake Tahoe Branch Library is one branch of Douglas County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 54,343 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 Skyland

Does Skyland have a public library?

Yes: Lake Tahoe Branch Library, 233 Warrior Way, is a branch of Douglas County Public Library, which serves 54,343 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Douglas County 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 Skyland’s library?

It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.

What is Skyland’s civic life grade?

Skyland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Skyland.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.