Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0Salida’s library is a branch of Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida, which lends more per resident than 96% of systems its size
Salida’s library is the Salida Public Library, a branch of Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida, which serves 9,896 people and lent 178K items last year.
The short version on Salida’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida system logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 96% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida system spends $93 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
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; Salida’s library is a branch of Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida, so they cover the whole system (9,896 people), not just the Salida branch.
What’s behind Salida’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Salida is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #3 of 104 in Colorado. Salida is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Salida’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 →
122 community nonprofits are registered in Salida
20.8 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
10.0%
10.0% of Salida’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 Salida’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 50 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida 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.
Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida serves 9,896 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
178K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
45,156 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
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
Salida Public Library, 405 'E' St., Salida.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida branch.
New in Salida? 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 $2.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Salida cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $918K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $918K 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 8,266 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Salida Public Library is one branch of Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 9,896 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 Salida
Does Salida have a public library?
Yes: Salida Public Library, 405 'E' St., is a branch of Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida, which serves 9,896 people. The branch is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Southern Chaffee County Regional Lib Dist/Salida 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 Salida’s library?
It logged 12.7 visits and lent 18.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Salida’s civic life grade?
A+ Salida is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #3 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 Salida.
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.