Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY-SA 3.0San Luis’ library logs 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Costilla County Public Library serves 3,636 people in and around San Luis. Last year it lent 131 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,111 visits.
The short version on San Luis’s library
Costilla County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Costilla County Public Library records 0.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $22 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Open only about 14 hours a week
The San Luis branch keeps short hours: about 14 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Costilla County Public Library offered 24 programs last year, 6.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. 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; Costilla County Public Library serves 3,636 people in and around San Luis, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind San Luis’ civic life grade
San Luis 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Costilla County Public Library serves 3,636 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Costilla County Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Costilla County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
131 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
24 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Costilla County Public Library, 418 Gasper Street, San Luis.
No late fees. Good at every Costilla County Public Library branch.
New in San Luis? 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 San Luis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $78K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2,467 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $78K 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 650 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- System-wide. Costilla County Public Library serves 3,636 people in and around San Luis, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just San Luis.
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 San Luis
Does San Luis have a public library?
Yes. Costilla County Public Library, 418 Gasper Street, serves 3,636 people in and around San Luis (the survey’s count) and is open about 14 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Costilla County Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is San Luis’ library?
It logged 0.3 visits and lent 0.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is San Luis’ civic life grade?
San Luis 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 San Luis.
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.