Libraries in San Bernardino
Norman F. Feldheym Library serves San Bernardino’s 226,541 residents from 4 locations. Last year it lent 52K books, movies and e-books and logged 43K visits.
What stands out about San Bernardino’s libraries
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
5 places to borrow in San Bernardino
Norman F. Feldheym Library, 555 W. Sixth St., San Bernardino.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in San Bernardino? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in San Bernardino
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Close to typical for its size
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
Norman F. Feldheym Library serves 226,541 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
52K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 180K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
11,310 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, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in San Bernardino last year.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average San Bernardino cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $809K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 20,509 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
San Bernardino ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redlands | A. K. Smiley Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 53 |
| Colton | Colton Main Library fine-free | 0.3 | 46 |
| San Bernardino | Norman F. Feldheym Library | 0.2 | 74 |
| Highland | Highland Sam J. Racadio Library and Environmental Learning C | — | 40 |
| Muscoy | Muscoy Baker Family Learning Center | — | 29 |
| Rialto | Rialto Branch Library | — | 34 |
| Loma Linda | Loma Linda Branch Library | — | 29 |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in San Bernardino.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.