Photo: Sullynyflhi · Public domainPoint Lookout’s library is a branch of Long Beach Public Library, which lends less per resident than 52% of systems its size
Point Lookout’s library is the Point Lookout Branch Library, a branch of Long Beach Public Library, which serves 40,647 people and lent 244K items last year.
What Point Lookout’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Long Beach Public Library system ran 2,101 programs last year, about 40 a week. That’s 52 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 41,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
The Point Lookout branch keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
61% of the 2,101 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 689 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Long Beach Public Library system spends $100 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 81% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Point Lookout’s library is a branch of Long Beach Public Library, so they cover the whole system (40,647 people), not just the Point Lookout branch.
What’s behind Point Lookout’s civic life grade
Point Lookout isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
About 13 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.
Long Beach Public Library serves 40,647 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Long Beach Public Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
244K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
99,812 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Point Lookout Branch Library, 79 Lido Boulevard, Point Lookout.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Long Beach Public Library branch.
New in Point Lookout? 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 $1.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Point Lookout cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 17,058 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point Lookout | Point Lookout Branch Library | — | 16 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lido Beach | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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. Point Lookout Branch Library is one branch of Long Beach Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 40,647 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 Point Lookout
Does Point Lookout have a public library?
Yes: Point Lookout Branch Library, 79 Lido Boulevard, is a branch of Long Beach Public Library, which serves 40,647 people. The branch is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Long Beach Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Point Lookout’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Point Lookout’s civic life grade?
Point Lookout 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 Point Lookout.
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.