Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Brush’s library is a branch of East Morgan County Library District/Brush, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Brush’s library is the East Morgan County Library District, a branch of East Morgan County Library District/Brush, which serves 7,467 people and lent 100K items last year.
What Brush’s library is like
More library cards than residents
9,835 cards for 7,467 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The East Morgan County Library District/Brush system ran 846 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 113 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 17,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The East Morgan County Library District/Brush system logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 85% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
37% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 58%. What your card is worth ↓
A well-funded system
The East Morgan County Library District/Brush system spends $229 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. 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; Brush’s library is a branch of East Morgan County Library District/Brush, so they cover the whole system (7,467 people), not just the Brush branch.
What’s behind Brush’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Brush is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #7 of 104 in Colorado. Brush is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Brush’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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Brush
6.6 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.4%
10.4% of Brush’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 Brush’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
East Morgan County Library District/Brush serves 7,467 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole East Morgan County Library District/Brush system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
100K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
15,125 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
East Morgan County Library District, 500 Clayton Street, Brush.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every East Morgan County Library District/Brush branch.
New in Brush? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brush cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 9,835 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. East Morgan County Library District is one branch of East Morgan County Library District/Brush, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 7,467 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 Brush
Does Brush have a public library?
Yes: East Morgan County Library District, 500 Clayton Street, is a branch of East Morgan County Library District/Brush, which serves 7,467 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Morgan County Library District/Brush 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 Brush’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 13.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Brush’s civic life grade?
A Brush is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 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 Brush.
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.