Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Centennial’s library is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Centennial’s library is the Smoky Hill Public Library, a branch of Arapahoe Library District, which serves 277,382 people and lent 5M items last year.
Centennial’s library, in brief
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; Centennial’s library is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, so they cover the whole system (277,382 people), not just the Centennial branch.
What’s behind Centennial’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Centennial is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #56 of 104 in Colorado. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #93. Centennial is graded on two of the three inputs. Centennial’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
470 community nonprofits are registered in Centennial
4.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (100 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 28 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of Centennial’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 Centennial’s 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.
4 places to borrow in Centennial
Smoky Hill Public Library, 5430 South Biscay Circle, Centennial.
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 Centennial? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Arapahoe Library District branches in Centennial
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 Centennial 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Littleton | Littleton/Bemis Public Library fine-free | 11.0 | 64 | B+ |
| Aurora | Aurora Public Library Central Library fine-free | 2.8 | 48 | D |
| Centennial | Smoky Hill Public Library fine-free | — | 69 | B− |
| Highlands Ranch | Highlands Ranch Library fine-free | — | 70 | — unincorporated |
| Dove Valley | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Greenwood Village | None of its own | — | — | B− |
| Inverness | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Cherry Creek | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Foxfield | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Smoky Hill 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 Centennial
Does Centennial have a public library?
Yes: Smoky Hill Public Library, 5430 South Biscay Circle, is a branch of Arapahoe Library District, which serves 277,382 people. The branch is open about 69 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 Centennial’s 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 Centennial’s civic life grade?
B− Centennial is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #56 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 Centennial.
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.