Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Durango’s library logs 5.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Durango Public Library serves 56,453 people in and around Durango. Last year it lent 397K books, movies and e-books and logged 288K visits.
Durango’s library, in brief
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Durango Public Library logs 5.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 531 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.1 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Durango Public Library serves 56,453 people in and around Durango, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Durango’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Durango is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #17 of 104 in Colorado. Durango is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Durango’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 →
266 community nonprofits are registered in Durango
13.7 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 (32 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.
7.7%
7.7% of Durango’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 Durango’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 156 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Durango Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Durango Public Library serves 56,453 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
397K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
136,875 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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
Durango Public Library, 1900 E 3rd Ave, Durango.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Durango Public Library branch.
New in Durango? 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 $2.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Durango cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3M 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 25,000 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Durango Public Library serves 56,453 people in and around Durango, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Durango.
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 Durango
Does Durango have a public library?
Yes. Durango Public Library, 1900 E 3rd Ave, serves 56,453 people in and around Durango (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Durango Public Library 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 Durango’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Durango’s civic life grade?
A Durango is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #17 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 Durango.
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.