Alger, Amanda K., Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church · Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY-SA 3.0Eaton’s library is a branch of High Plains Library District, which lends more per resident than 74% of systems its size
Eaton’s library is the Eaton Public Library, a branch of High Plains Library District, which serves 315,735 people and lent 2.2M items last year.
Eaton’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The High Plains Library District system ran 10,130 programs last year, about 195 a week. That’s 32 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 141,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The High Plains Library District system logs 4.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The High Plains Library District system spends $92 per resident a year, about twice the typical $36 for a library its size. Almost all of it (87%) comes from local taxes. 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; Eaton’s library is a branch of High Plains Library District, so they cover the whole system (315,735 people), not just the Eaton branch.
What’s behind Eaton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Eaton is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #30 of 104 in Colorado. Eaton is graded on two of the three inputs. Eaton’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 →
43 community nonprofits are registered in Eaton
7.3 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Eaton’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 Eaton’s residents live; 2022.
About 84 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
High Plains Library District serves 315,735 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole High Plains Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
2.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
471,830 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Eaton Public Library, 132 Maple Avenue, Eaton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every High Plains Library District branch.
New in Eaton? 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 $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eaton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $29M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $35M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $29M 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 114,841 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Eaton Public Library is one branch of High Plains Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 315,735 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 Eaton
Does Eaton have a public library?
Yes: Eaton Public Library, 132 Maple Avenue, is a branch of High Plains Library District, which serves 315,735 people. The branch is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is High Plains 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 Eaton’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 6.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Eaton’s civic life grade?
B+ Eaton is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on civic life, #30 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 Eaton.
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.