Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0La Veta’s library logs 24 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
La Veta Regional Library District serves 1,576 people in and around La Veta. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 38K visits.
The short version on La Veta’s library
More library cards than residents
3,617 cards for 1,576 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
La Veta Regional Library District logs 24 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 9.6 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 86% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
La Veta Regional Library District ran 370 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 235 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 6,868 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
25% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 74%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 370 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.9 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; La Veta Regional Library District serves 1,576 people in and around La Veta, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind La Veta’s civic life grade
La Veta 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole La Veta Regional Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
La Veta Regional Library District serves 1,576 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
15K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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.
Find it
La Veta Public Library District, 310 South Main Street, La Veta.
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 La Veta Regional Library District branch.
New in La Veta? 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 $1.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average La Veta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $231K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $325K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $231K 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 3,617 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. La Veta’s 38,092 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. La Veta Regional Library District serves 1,576 people in and around La Veta, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just La Veta.
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 La Veta
Does La Veta have a public library?
Yes. La Veta Regional Library District, 310 South Main Street, serves 1,576 people in and around La Veta (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is La Veta Regional 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 La Veta’s library?
It logged 24.2 visits and lent 9.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is La Veta’s civic life grade?
La Veta 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 La Veta.
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.