Photo: Citycommunications at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0Fort Collins’ library is a branch of Poudre River Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 94% of systems its size
Fort Collins’s library is the Council Tree Library, a branch of Poudre River Public Library District, which serves 211,387 people and lent 3M items last year.
Fort Collins’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Poudre River Public Library District system logs 3.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.4 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 33% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 71 hours a week
The Fort Collins branch is open about 71 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 1,773 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 21 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; Fort Collins’s library is a branch of Poudre River Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (211,387 people), not just the Fort Collins branch.
What’s behind Fort Collins’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Fort Collins is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #46 of 104 in Colorado. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #61. Fort Collins’ 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 →
812 community nonprofits are registered in Fort Collins
4.8 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 (158 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 35 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.4%
7.4% of Fort Collins’ 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 Fort Collins’ residents live; 2022.
About 23 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.
Poudre River Public Library District serves 211,387 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 280 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Poudre River Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
959,886 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
3 places to borrow in Fort Collins
Council Tree Library, 2733 Council Tree Ave, Fort Collins.
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 Poudre River Public Library District branch.
New in Fort Collins? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Poudre River Public Library District branches in Fort Collins
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fort Collins cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $13M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $44M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13M 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 135,619 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.
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. Council Tree Library is one branch of Poudre River Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 211,387 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 Fort Collins
Does Fort Collins have a public library?
Yes: Council Tree Library, 2733 Council Tree Ave, is a branch of Poudre River Public Library District, which serves 211,387 people. The branch is open about 71 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Poudre River 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 Fort Collins’ library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Fort Collins’ civic life grade?
B Fort Collins is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #46 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 Fort Collins.
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.