Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0Bouse’s library is a branch of La Paz County Services, which logs less per resident than 74% of systems its size
Bouse’s library is the Bouse Public Library, a branch of La Paz County Services, which serves 17,128 people.
Bouse’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The La Paz County Services system offered 24 programs last year, 1.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, the La Paz County Services system sits below the middle on all five per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 17% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The La Paz County Services system spends $6 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Bouse’s library is a branch of La Paz County Services, so they cover the whole system (17,128 people), not just the Bouse branch.
What’s behind Bouse’s civic life grade
Bouse isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of La Paz County Services, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
La Paz County Services serves 17,128 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
A year at La Paz County Services
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole La Paz County Services system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
24 programs a year
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
Bouse Public Library, 44031 Plomosa Rd, Bouse.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every La Paz County Services branch.
New in Bouse? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bouse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $100K.
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 2,900 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bouse | Bouse Public Library fine-free | — | 32 | — unincorporated |
| Utting | 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.
- Not reported for 2024: print loans and books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Bouse Public Library is one branch of La Paz County Services, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 17,128 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 Bouse
Does Bouse have a public library?
Yes: Bouse Public Library, 44031 Plomosa Rd, is a branch of La Paz County Services, which serves 17,128 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is La Paz County Services 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 Bouse’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bouse’s civic life grade?
Bouse isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of La Paz County Services, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bouse.
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.