Photo: Jingletown · CC BY-SA 3.0Meeker’s library lends 3.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Meeker Regional Library District serves 3,885 people in and around Meeker. Last year it lent 13K print books and media and drew 779 people to its programs.
Meeker’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 141 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Meeker Regional Library District spends $90 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. All of it 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; Meeker Regional Library District serves 3,885 people in and around Meeker, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Meeker’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Meeker is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Meeker is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Meeker near the top nationally; Meeker’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Meeker’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Meeker
11.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
15.7%
15.7% of Meeker’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 Meeker’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Meeker cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $350K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $195K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $350K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 2,864 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Meeker Regional Library District serves 3,885 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Meeker Regional Library District system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
13K 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 2 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
Meeker Regional Library District, 490 Main Street, Meeker.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Meeker Regional Library District branch.
New in Meeker? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Meeker Regional Library District didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Meeker Regional Library District serves 3,885 people in and around Meeker, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Meeker.
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 Meeker
Does Meeker have a public library?
Yes. Meeker Regional Library District, 490 Main Street, serves 3,885 people in and around Meeker (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Meeker Regional Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Meeker’s library?
It lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 141 programs that drew 779 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Meeker’s civic life grade?
A+ Meeker is among the top 1% 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 Meeker.
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.