Photo: Fitchhollister · CC BY-SA 3.0Telluride’s library is a branch of San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride), which lends more per resident than 98% of systems its size
Telluride’s library is the Wilkinson Public Library, a branch of San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride), which serves 6,515 people and lent 168K items last year.
Telluride’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
12,122 cards for 6,515 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 ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
The San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride) system logs 29 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Seven times the programs of a typical library its size
The San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride) system ran 1,467 programs last year, about 28 a week. That’s 225 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 27,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 10 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 39% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 39% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. 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; Telluride’s library is a branch of San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride), so they cover the whole system (6,515 people), not just the Telluride branch.
What’s behind Telluride’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Telluride is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Telluride is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Telluride’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 →
41 community nonprofits are registered in Telluride
19.1 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.
9.6%
9.6% of Telluride’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 Telluride’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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.
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.
San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride) serves 6,515 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride) system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
168K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
65,134 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Wilkinson Public Library, 100 W. Pacific Ave., Telluride.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride) branch.
New in Telluride? 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 Telluride cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.4M 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 12,122 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Telluride’s 185,875 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Wilkinson Public Library is one branch of San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride), so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 6,515 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 Telluride
Does Telluride have a public library?
Yes: Wilkinson Public Library, 100 W. Pacific Ave., is a branch of San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride), which serves 6,515 people. The branch is open about 62 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Miguel Library District # 1 (Telluride) 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 Telluride’s library?
It logged 28.5 visits and lent 25.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Telluride’s civic life grade?
A+ Telluride is ahead of 96% 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 Telluride.
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.