Grimes’ library is a branch of Colusa County Free Library, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size
Grimes’s library is the Grimes Branch, a branch of Colusa County Free Library, which serves 21,743 people and lent 72K items last year.
What Grimes’s library is like
Open only about 8 hours a week
The Grimes branch keeps short hours: about 8 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 ↓
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; Grimes’s library is a branch of Colusa County Free Library, so they cover the whole system (21,743 people), not just the Grimes branch.
What’s behind Grimes’ civic life grade
Grimes 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 →
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.
Find it
Grimes Branch, 240 Main, Grimes.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Colusa County Free Library branch.
New in Grimes? 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 $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Grimes 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. Grimes Branch is one branch of Colusa County Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,743 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 Grimes
Does Grimes have a public library?
Yes: Grimes Branch, 240 Main, is a branch of Colusa County Free Library, which serves 21,743 people. The branch is open about 8 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 Grimes’ 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 Grimes’ civic life grade?
Grimes 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 Grimes.
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.