Saguache School and Jail Buildings · Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY-SA 3.0Saguache’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Northern Saguache County Library District serves 3,073 people in and around Saguache. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.
What Saguache’s library is like
More library cards than residents
3,096 cards for 3,073 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Northern Saguache County Library District logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Northern Saguache County Library District ran 299 programs last year, about 6 a week. That’s 97 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Northern Saguache County Library District spends $148 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
51% of the 299 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 114 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; Northern Saguache County Library District serves 3,073 people in and around Saguache, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Saguache’s civic life grade
Saguache isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Northern Saguache County Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Northern Saguache County Library District serves 3,073 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,182 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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
Northern Saguache County Library District, 702 Pitkin Avenue, Saguache.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Northern Saguache County Library District branch.
New in Saguache? 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 Saguache cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $454K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $409K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $454K 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 3,096 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Northern Saguache County Library District serves 3,073 people in and around Saguache, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Saguache.
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 Saguache
Does Saguache have a public library?
Yes. Northern Saguache County Library District, 702 Pitkin Avenue, serves 3,073 people in and around Saguache (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Northern Saguache County 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 Saguache’s library?
It logged 11.1 visits and lent 7.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Saguache’s civic life grade?
Saguache isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Saguache.
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.