Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Hayden’s library runs 158 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
West Routt Library District/Hayden serves 3,068 people in and around Hayden. Last year it lent 29K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Hayden’s library
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
West Routt Library District/Hayden ran 484 programs last year, about 9 a week. That’s 158 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
West Routt Library District/Hayden lends 9.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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; West Routt Library District/Hayden serves 3,068 people in and around Hayden, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hayden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hayden is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Hayden is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Hayden’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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Hayden
6.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.9%
9.9% of Hayden’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 Hayden’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
West Routt Library District/Hayden serves 3,068 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Routt Library District/Hayden system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
29K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card.
Find it
West Routt Library District/Hayden, 201 East Jefferson Avenue, Hayden.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every West Routt Library District/Hayden branch.
New in Hayden? 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 $2.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hayden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $219K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $486K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $219K 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 2,508 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. West Routt Library District/Hayden serves 3,068 people in and around Hayden, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hayden.
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 Hayden
Does Hayden have a public library?
Yes. West Routt Library District/Hayden, 201 East Jefferson Avenue, serves 3,068 people in and around Hayden (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Routt Library District/Hayden fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hayden’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 9.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hayden’s civic life grade?
A Hayden is ahead of 92% 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 Hayden.
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.