Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Clifton’s library is a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size
Clifton’s library is the Clifton Branch Library, a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, which serves 159,637 people and lent 1.3M items last year.
The short version on Clifton’s library
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Mesa County Public Library District system logs 4.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
58% of the 3,237 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 1,116 were for children. 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; Clifton’s library is a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (159,637 people), not just the Clifton branch.
What’s behind Clifton’s civic life grade
Clifton 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 Mesa County Public 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 Clifton
Clifton is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
9.6%
9.6% of Clifton’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 Clifton’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 80 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mesa County Public 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.
Mesa County Public Library District serves 159,637 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
354,968 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 21 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
Clifton Branch Library, 3270 D 1/2 Road, Clifton.
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 Mesa County Public Library District branch.
New in Clifton? 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 $2.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Clifton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.1M 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 68,416 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | Clifton Branch Library fine-free | — | 60 | — unincorporated |
| Grand Junction | Mesa County Public Library District fine-free | — | 65 | B+ |
| Fruitvale | 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. Clifton Branch Library is one branch of Mesa County Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 159,637 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 Clifton
Does Clifton have a public library?
Yes: Clifton Branch Library, 3270 D 1/2 Road, is a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, which serves 159,637 people. The branch is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mesa County Public 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 Clifton’s library?
It logged 4.5 visits and lent 8.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Clifton’s civic life grade?
Clifton 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 Mesa County Public Library District, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Clifton.
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.