Photo: katkimchee · CC BY 2.0Steamboat Springs’ library is a branch of East Routt Library District, which lends more per resident than 90% of systems its size
Steamboat Springs’s library is the Steamboat Springs/East Routt Library District, a branch of East Routt Library District, which serves 18,321 people and lent 363K items last year.
The short version on Steamboat Springs’s library
More library cards than residents
20,592 cards for 18,321 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The East Routt Library District system logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 51%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 730 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 8.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
The East Routt Library District system spends $191 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (89%) 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; Steamboat Springs’s library is a branch of East Routt Library District, so they cover the whole system (18,321 people), not just the Steamboat Springs branch.
What’s behind Steamboat Springs’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Steamboat Springs is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #45 of 104 in Colorado. Steamboat Springs is graded on two of the three inputs. Steamboat Springs’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in Steamboat Springs
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Steamboat Springs’ 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 Steamboat Springs’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 105 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole East Routt Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Routt Library District serves 18,321 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
49% of borrowing is digital
363K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
178,333 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 11 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
Steamboat Springs/East Routt Library District, 1289 Lincoln Ave., Steamboat Springs.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every East Routt Library District branch.
New in Steamboat Springs? 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 $1.63 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Steamboat Springs cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.5M 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 20,592 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Steamboat Springs/East Routt Library District is one branch of East Routt Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 18,321 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 Steamboat Springs
Does Steamboat Springs have a public library?
Yes: Steamboat Springs/East Routt Library District, 1289 Lincoln Ave., is a branch of East Routt Library District, which serves 18,321 people. The branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Routt 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 Steamboat Springs’ library?
It logged 10.6 visits and lent 19.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Steamboat Springs’ civic life grade?
B Steamboat Springs is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life, #45 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 Steamboat Springs.
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.