Colusa High School and Grounds · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Colusa’s library runs 43 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Colusa County Free Library serves 21,743 people in and around Colusa. Last year it lent 72K books, movies and e-books and logged 31K visits.
The short version on Colusa’s library
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 944 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Colusa Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990. Today’s library there has 8,207 square feet. The building ↓
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; Colusa County Free Library serves 21,743 people in and around Colusa, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Colusa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Colusa is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #71 of 448 in California. Colusa is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Colusa’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Colusa
5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Colusa’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.9% in the typical California 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 Colusa’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1990
Colusa County Free Library, 738 Market St., Colusa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Colusa County Free Library branch.
New in Colusa? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Colusa Carnegie Library
Colusa Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 10, 1990. It is significant for its architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Classical Revival. It was listed as part of California Carnegie Libraries MPS.
The Colusa Carnegie Library, at 260 Sixth St. in Colusa, California, is a Carnegie library built in 1906 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has also been known as the Carnegie Library Building and the City of Colusa Police Department.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Colusa County Free Library serves 21,743 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Colusa County Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
72K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
9,102 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 14 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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Colusa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $993K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $993K 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 5,286 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Colusa County Free Library serves 21,743 people in and around Colusa, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Colusa.
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 Colusa
Does Colusa have a public library?
Yes. Colusa County Free Library, 738 Market St., serves 21,743 people in and around Colusa (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Colusa County Free 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 Colusa’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Colusa’s civic life grade?
A− Colusa is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #71 of 448 in California. 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 Colusa.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.