Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Basalt’s library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Basalt Regional Library District serves 12,306 people in and around Basalt. Last year it lent 108K books, movies and e-books and logged 101K visits.
Basalt’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
17,200 cards for 12,306 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Basalt Regional Library District logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
Basalt Regional Library District spends $162 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (88%) comes from local taxes. 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; Basalt Regional Library District serves 12,306 people in and around Basalt, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Basalt’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Basalt is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #13 of 104 in Colorado. Basalt is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Basalt’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 →
57 community nonprofits are registered in Basalt
13.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (6 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.
8.2%
8.2% of Basalt’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.8% in the typical Colorado 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 Basalt’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Basalt Regional Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Basalt Regional Library District serves 12,306 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
44% of borrowing is digital
108K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
48,040 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, 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
Basalt Regional Library District, 14 Midland Ave, Basalt.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Basalt Regional Library District branch.
New in Basalt? 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 Basalt cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 17,200 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basalt | Basalt Regional Library District fine-free | — | 55 | A |
| El Jebel | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. Basalt Regional Library District serves 12,306 people in and around Basalt, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Basalt.
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 Basalt
Does Basalt have a public library?
Yes. Basalt Regional Library District, 14 Midland Ave, serves 12,306 people in and around Basalt (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Basalt Regional Library District 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 Basalt’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 8.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Basalt’s civic life grade?
A Basalt is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on civic life, #13 of 104 in Colorado. 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 Basalt.
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.