Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY-SA 3.0Fort Garland’s library is a branch of Costilla County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 99% of systems its size
Fort Garland’s library is the Blanca/Fort Garland Library, a branch of Costilla County Public Library, which serves 3,636 people and lent 131 items last year.
Fort Garland’s library, in brief
The Costilla County Public Library system is used less than most libraries its size
The Costilla County Public Library system records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Costilla County Public Library system offered 24 programs last year, 6.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 Garland’s library is a branch of Costilla County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (3,636 people), not just the Fort Garland branch.
What’s behind Fort Garland’s civic life grade
Fort Garland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Costilla County Public Library serves 3,636 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Costilla County Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Costilla County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
131 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
24 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Blanca/Fort Garland Library, 17591 E Highway 160, Blanca.
No late fees. Good at every Costilla County Public Library branch.
New in Fort Garland? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fort Garland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $78K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2,467 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $78K 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 650 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Blanca/Fort Garland Library is one branch of Costilla County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 3,636 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 Garland
Does Fort Garland have a public library?
Yes: Blanca/Fort Garland Library, 17591 E Highway 160, is a branch of Costilla County Public Library, which serves 3,636 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Costilla County Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fort Garland’s library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 0.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Fort Garland’s civic life grade?
Fort Garland isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Fort Garland.
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.