Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Ordway’s library is a branch of Combined Community Library (Ordway), which lends less per resident than 51% of systems its size
Ordway’s library is the Combined Community Library Main Branch, a branch of Combined Community Library (Ordway), which serves 5,648 people and lent 21K items last year.
The short version on Ordway’s library
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 90% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 81% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The Combined Community Library (Ordway) system offered 24 programs last year, 4.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 22 hours a week
The Ordway branch keeps short hours: about 22 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The buildings ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 14% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Combined Community Library (Ordway) system spends $6 per resident, less than 98% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Ordway’s library is a branch of Combined Community Library (Ordway), so they cover the whole system (5,648 people), not just the Ordway branch.
What’s behind Ordway’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ordway is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. Ordway is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Ordway’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($41K–$68K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Ordway
2.6 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Ordway’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 Ordway’s residents live; 2022.
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
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Combined Community Library (Ordway) serves 5,648 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Combined Community Library (Ordway) system. The library’s own count.
Visits aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 1,567 visits against 21K loans, so we leave the count out.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
21K 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.
2 places to borrow in Ordway
Combined Community Library Main Branch, 1007 Main Street, Ordway.
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 Combined Community Library (Ordway) branch.
New in Ordway? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Combined Community Library (Ordway) branches in Ordway
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $7.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ordway cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $36K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $263K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $36K 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 805 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. Combined Community Library Main Branch is one branch of Combined Community Library (Ordway), so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 5,648 people it serves.
- Visits left out. This year’s visit count is far below what the library lends, so we leave it out.
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 Ordway
Does Ordway have a public library?
Yes: Combined Community Library Main Branch, 1007 Main Street, is a branch of Combined Community Library (Ordway), which serves 5,648 people. The branch is open about 22 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Combined Community Library (Ordway) 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 Ordway’s library?
It lent 3.7 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 24 programs that drew 87 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Ordway’s civic life grade?
C+ Ordway is ahead of 40% 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 Ordway.
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.