Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Ridgway’s library logs 20 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Ridgway Public Library District serves 2,740 people in and around Ridgway. Last year it lent 48K books, movies and e-books and logged 56K visits.
The short version on Ridgway’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Ridgway Public Library District logs 20 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Ridgway Public Library District ran 342 programs last year, about 7 a week. That’s 125 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 4,426 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 39% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
2,579 cards for 2,740 people, or 94%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 342 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.8 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Ridgway Public Library District serves 2,740 people in and around Ridgway, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Ridgway’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Ridgway is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Ridgway is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Ridgway’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 Ridgway
15.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.7%
8.7% of Ridgway’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 Ridgway’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Ridgway Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ridgway Public Library District serves 2,740 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
48K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
7,456 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 5 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
Ridgway Public Library District, 300 Charles Street, Ridgway.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every Ridgway Public Library District branch.
New in Ridgway? 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 $2.04 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ridgway cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $381K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $778K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $381K 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 2,579 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Ridgway’s 56,068 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Ridgway Public Library District serves 2,740 people in and around Ridgway, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Ridgway.
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 Ridgway
Does Ridgway have a public library?
Yes. Ridgway Public Library District, 300 Charles Street, serves 2,740 people in and around Ridgway (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ridgway Public Library District fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Ridgway’s library?
It logged 20.5 visits and lent 17.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ridgway’s civic life grade?
A Ridgway is ahead of 92% 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 Ridgway.
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.