Photo: VitaleBaby at en.wikipedia · Public domainCalifornia’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
California Area Public Library serves 8,911 people in and around California. Last year it lent 4,550 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,983 visits.
What California’s library is like
California Area Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
California Area Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $5 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
93% of the 72 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 46 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
35% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 28%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 10% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
California Area Public Library offered 72 programs last year, 8.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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; California Area Public Library serves 8,911 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 42% of U.S. towns, #446 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. California is graded on two of the three inputs. California’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 ($36K–$61K) 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in California
4.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.0%
6.0% of California’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Pennsylvania 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.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
California Area Public Library serves 8,911 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole California Area Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,550 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
688 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
California Area Public Library, 100 Wood Street, California.
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 California Area Public 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 $1.62 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 $46K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $75K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $46K 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 926 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | California Area Public Library fine-free | — | 45 | C+ |
| West Pike Run Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| West Brownsville | None of its own | — | — | — graded with its twin city |
| Centerville | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Coal Center | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Jefferson Township | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Newell | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Long Branch | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Fallowfield Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Elco | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. California Area Public Library serves 8,911 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. California Area Public Library, 100 Wood Street, serves 8,911 people in and around California (the survey’s count) and is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is California Area 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 California’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is California’s civic life grade?
C+ California is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns on civic life, #446 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. 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.