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Main Street Palisade Colorado USAPhoto: Greg Tally - User: (WT-shared) WineCountryInn at wts wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 3.0
Palisade Branch Library · part of Mesa County Public Library District

Palisade’s library is a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 79% of systems its size

Palisade’s library is the Palisade Branch Library, a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, which serves 159,637 people and lent 1.3M items last year.

119 W. 3rd Street, Palisade 81526 · about 39 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 84% of U.S. towns · #18 of 104 in Colorado. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (970) 464-7557 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
1.3M
8.3 per resident
Visits a year
719K
4.5 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
3,237
about 62 a week · 62K attended
Cardholders
43%
68,416 cards
Open
39 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

Palisade’s library, in brief

Visits are the system’s strong suit

The Mesa County Public Library District system logs 4.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓

Programs lean toward adults

58% of the 3,237 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 1,116 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; Palisade’s library is a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (159,637 people), not just the Palisade branch.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Palisade’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Palisade is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #18 of 104 in Colorado. Palisade is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Palisade’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureBCommunity nonprofits4.4 per 1,000 residents · CO towns 5.2 · U.S. 3.7AVolunteering11.2% of adults 25–44 · CO towns 6.8% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 84%
FewerMore
Colorado towns we grade (104)Ahead of 83%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $60K–$101K (9,108)Ahead of 84%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Palisade is small (2,599 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

11 community nonprofits are registered in Palisade

4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.19 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation20.77 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans20.77 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services20.97 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.97 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.39 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.19 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other00.19 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

11.2%

11.2% of Palisade’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 Palisade’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 80 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mesa County Public Library District system. The library’s own count.

719K
visits
4.5 per resident
1.3M
loans, print + digital
8.3 per resident
3,237
programs & events
62K attended
68K
library cards
43% of people served
Every open hour80items borrowed
Every week1,201people at a program
Every day920Wi-Fi sessions
83 staff (full-time equivalent)140 public computers
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 4.5 visits · typical 2.1Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 6 print items · typical 3.2Higher than 79%
Digital borrowing 2.2 e-items · typical 1.4Higher than 68%
Kids’ borrowing 2.4 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 67%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.2Higher than 82%
Programs offered 20.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 89%
Cardholders 43% of residents · typical 41%Higher than 53%
Spending $51 per resident · typical $36Higher than 67%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Mesa County Public Library District serves 159,637 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

1.3M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

1.3Mloans
Books & media (adults) 44%Kids’ books & media 29%E-books, audio & streaming 27%
From your couch

354,968 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 21 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Palisade →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5736
Ages 6–11380
Teens206
Adults1,881
All ages34
Little ones
14.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

387K
kids’ books & media borrowed
62K
people at programs
3,237
programs
The building

Find it

Palisade Branch Library, 119 W. 3rd Street, Palisade.

Directions(970) 464-7557
39
hours open a week
3,711
square feet
With a card

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 Mesa County Public Library District branch.

New in Palisade? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.63 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palisade cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$51 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $8.1M.

Local taxes 83%State 10%Federal 2%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $21M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.1M 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 68,416 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Palisade Branch Library is one branch of Mesa County Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 159,637 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 Palisade

Does Palisade have a public library?

Yes: Palisade Branch Library, 119 W. 3rd Street, is a branch of Mesa County Public Library District, which serves 159,637 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Mesa County Public 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 Palisade’s library?

It logged 4.5 visits and lent 8.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Palisade’s civic life grade?

A− Palisade is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on civic life, #18 of 104 in Colorado. 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 Palisade.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.