Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Palmer Lake’s library is a branch of Pikes Peak Library District, which lends more per resident than 73% of systems its size
Palmer Lake’s library is the Palmer Lake Library, a branch of Pikes Peak Library District, which serves 678,684 people and lent 7.2M items last year.
The short version on Palmer Lake’s library
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 50% of loans, more per resident than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 50%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
The Palmer Lake branch keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Palmer Lake’s library is a branch of Pikes Peak Library District, so they cover the whole system (678,684 people), not just the Palmer Lake branch.
What’s behind Palmer Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Palmer Lake is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #9 of 104 in Colorado. Palmer Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Palmer Lake’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Palmer Lake
7.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.4%
9.4% of Palmer Lake’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 Palmer Lake’s residents live; 2022.
50% of borrowing is digital
7.2M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,556,552 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Pikes Peak Library District serves 678,684 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 179 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pikes Peak Library District system. The library’s own count.
About 47 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
Palmer Lake Library, 66 Lower Glenway, Palmer Lake.
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 Pikes Peak Library District branch.
New in Palmer Lake? 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 $3.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Palmer Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $33M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $108M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $33M 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 305,812 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Lake | Palmer Lake Library fine-free | — | 21 | A |
| Monument | None of its own | — | — | B+ |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Palmer Lake Library is one branch of Pikes Peak Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 678,684 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 Palmer Lake
Does Palmer Lake have a public library?
Yes: Palmer Lake Library, 66 Lower Glenway, is a branch of Pikes Peak Library District, which serves 678,684 people. The branch is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pikes Peak 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 Palmer Lake’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 10.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Palmer Lake’s civic life grade?
A Palmer Lake is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 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 Palmer Lake.
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.