Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Parker’s library is a branch of Douglas County Libraries, which lends more per resident than 95% of systems its size
Parker’s library is the Parker Library, a branch of Douglas County Libraries, which serves 383,911 people and lent 5.8M items last year.
What Parker’s library is like
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 63% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Douglas County Libraries system logs 3.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, and lends 9.8 print items per resident against a typical 3.2. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 5,882 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 42 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 5.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.4, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 35% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Open about 70 hours a week
The Parker branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year. 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; Parker’s library is a branch of Douglas County Libraries, so they cover the whole system (383,911 people), not just the Parker branch.
What’s behind Parker’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Parker is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #77 of 104 in Colorado. Parker is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Parker’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($100K–$167K) 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 →
197 community nonprofits are registered in Parker
3.2 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 (59 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 13 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Parker’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 Parker’s residents live; 2022.
About 92 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 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Douglas County Libraries serves 383,911 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 259 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Douglas County Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
5.8M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,008,559 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Parker Library, 20105 East Main Street, Parker.
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 Douglas County Libraries branch.
New in Parker? 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 $2.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Parker cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $34M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $87M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34M 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 172,695 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | Aurora Public Library Central Library fine-free | 2.8 | 48 | D |
| Parker | Parker Library fine-free | — | 70 | C |
| Stonegate | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Stepping Stone | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Grand View Estates | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Parker Library is one branch of Douglas County Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 383,911 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 Parker
Does Parker have a public library?
Yes: Parker Library, 20105 East Main Street, is a branch of Douglas County Libraries, which serves 383,911 people. The branch is open about 70 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Douglas County Libraries 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 Parker’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 15.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Parker’s civic life grade?
C Parker is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #77 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 Parker.
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.