Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Granby’s library is a branch of Grand County Library District, which lends more per resident than 75% of systems its size
Granby’s library is the Granby Library, a branch of Grand County Library District, which serves 15,971 people and lent 173K items last year.
What Granby’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Grand County Library District system ran 1,580 programs last year, about 30 a week. That’s 99 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 17,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Grand County Library District system logs 9.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6.4 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A well-funded system
The Grand County Library District system spends $182 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (93%) 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; Granby’s library is a branch of Grand County Library District, so they cover the whole system (15,971 people), not just the Granby branch.
What’s behind Granby’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Granby is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. Granby is graded on two of the three inputs. Granby’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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Granby
14.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.7%
6.7% of Granby’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 Granby’s residents live; 2022.
About 12 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Grand County Library District serves 15,971 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grand County Library District system. The library’s own count.
40% of borrowing is digital
173K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
69,843 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Granby Library, 55 Zero Street, Granby.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Grand County Library District branch.
New in Granby? 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 Granby cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 10,497 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Granby Library is one branch of Grand County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 15,971 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 Granby
Does Granby have a public library?
Yes: Granby Library, 55 Zero Street, is a branch of Grand County Library District, which serves 15,971 people. The branch is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grand County 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 Granby’s library?
It logged 9.2 visits and lent 10.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Granby’s civic life grade?
A− Granby is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Granby.
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.