Vail’s library logs 24 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Vail Public Library serves Vail’s 4,474 residents. Last year it lent 53K books, movies and e-books and logged 109K visits.
Vail’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
13,671 cards for 4,474 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 ↓
People come to Vail Public Library a lot
Vail Public Library logs 24 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Most of Vail’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 54% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 46%. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
78% of the 291 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
9,839 people came to the library’s 291 programs last year: 2.2 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 96% 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.
What’s behind Vail’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Vail is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 104 in Colorado. Vail is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Vail near the top nationally; library visits rank highest.
Vail Public Library logged 24.3 visits per resident in FY2024, #17 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
56 community nonprofits are registered in Vail
12.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: health.
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 (6 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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
Vail Public Library serves 4,474 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
54% of borrowing is digital
53K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
28,194 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Vail last year.
Find it
Vail Public Library, 292 W Meadow Dr, Vail.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Vail? 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 Vail cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $954K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.3M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 13,671 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. Vail’s 108,884 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
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 Vail
Does Vail have a public library?
Yes. Vail Public Library, 292 W Meadow Dr, serves Vail’s 4,474 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Vail Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Vail’s library?
It logged 24.3 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Its visits per resident rank #17 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare.
What is Vail’s civic life grade?
A+ Vail is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Vail.
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.