Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Byers’ library is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Byers’s library is the Kelver Public Library, a branch of Arapahoe Library District, which serves 277,382 people and lent 5M items last year.
The short version on Byers’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Arapahoe Library District system logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
286,094 cards for 277,382 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 51%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Arapahoe Library District system spends $155 per resident a year, about four times the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 50% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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; Byers’s library is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, so they cover the whole system (277,382 people), not just the Byers branch.
What’s behind Byers’ civic life grade
Byers isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Byers
Byers is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
7.6%
7.6% of Byers’ 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 Byers’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 184 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Arapahoe Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Arapahoe Library District serves 277,382 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
49% of borrowing is digital
5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,446,469 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 65 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
Kelver Public Library, 585 S Main Street, Byers.
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 Arapahoe Library District branch.
New in Byers? 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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Byers cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $43M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $76M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $43M 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 286,094 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Kelver Public Library is one branch of Arapahoe Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 277,382 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 Byers
Does Byers have a public library?
Yes: Kelver Public Library, 585 S Main Street, is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, which serves 277,382 people. The branch is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Arapahoe 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 Byers’ library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 18.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Byers’ civic life grade?
Byers isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Byers.
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.