Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Pagosa Springs’ library is a branch of Upper San Juan Library District, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size
Pagosa Springs’s library is the Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library, a branch of Upper San Juan Library District, which serves 12,754 people and lent 106K items last year.
What Pagosa Springs’s library is like
More library cards than residents
16,336 cards for 12,754 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Upper San Juan Library District system ran 993 programs last year, about 19 a week. That’s 78 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
67% of the 993 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 135 were for children. 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; Pagosa Springs’s library is a branch of Upper San Juan Library District, so they cover the whole system (12,754 people), not just the Pagosa Springs branch.
What’s behind Pagosa Springs’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pagosa Springs is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns. Pagosa Springs is graded on two of the three inputs. Pagosa Springs’ 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Pagosa Springs
6.7 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.6%
5.6% of Pagosa Springs’ 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 Pagosa Springs’ residents live; 2022.
About 3 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.
Upper San Juan Library District serves 12,754 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 37 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Upper San Juan Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
106K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
14,273 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library, 811 San Juan Street, Pagosa Springs.
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 Upper San Juan Library District branch.
New in Pagosa Springs? 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 $2.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pagosa Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $624K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $624K 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 16,336 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library is one branch of Upper San Juan Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,754 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 Pagosa Springs
Does Pagosa Springs have a public library?
Yes: Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library, 811 San Juan Street, is a branch of Upper San Juan Library District, which serves 12,754 people. The branch is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Upper San Juan 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 Pagosa Springs’ library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 8.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Pagosa Springs’ civic life grade?
B− Pagosa Springs is ahead of 54% 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 Pagosa Springs.
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.