Photo: SunDawn · CC BY-SA 4.0Parachute’s library is a branch of Garfield County Public Library District, which lends more per resident than 71% of systems its size
Parachute’s library is the Parachute Branch Library, a branch of Garfield County Public Library District, which serves 62,722 people and lent 514K items last year.
The short version on Parachute’s library
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Garfield County Public Library District system logs 6.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 94% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Garfield County Public Library District system spends $163 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
84% of the people it serves carry a library card
52,422 cards for 62,722 people, or 84%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
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; Parachute’s library is a branch of Garfield County Public Library District, so they cover the whole system (62,722 people), not just the Parachute branch.
What’s behind Parachute’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Parachute is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns. Parachute is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Parachute’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
2 community nonprofits are registered in Parachute
1.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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.
14.1%
14.1% of Parachute’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 Parachute’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Garfield County Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Garfield County Public Library District serves 62,722 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
514K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
137,563 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 23 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
Parachute Branch Library, 244 Grand Valley Way, Parachute.
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 Garfield County Public Library District branch.
New in Parachute? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Parachute cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $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 52,422 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parachute | Parachute Branch Library fine-free | — | 54 | B− |
| Battlement Mesa | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. Parachute Branch Library is one branch of Garfield County Public Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 62,722 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 Parachute
Does Parachute have a public library?
Yes: Parachute Branch Library, 244 Grand Valley Way, is a branch of Garfield County Public Library District, which serves 62,722 people. The branch is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Garfield 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 Parachute’s library?
It logged 6.7 visits and lent 8.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Parachute’s civic life grade?
B− Parachute is ahead of 50% 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 Parachute.
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.