Photo: Hogs555 · CC BY-SA 3.0Westcliffe’s library is a branch of West Custer County Library District, which lends more per resident than 88% of systems its size
Westcliffe’s library is the West Custer Co Library District, a branch of West Custer County Library District, which serves 4,300 people and lent 38K items last year.
What stands out about West Custer Co Library District
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Westcliffe’s civic life grade
Westcliffe 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Custer County Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
West Custer County Library District serves 4,300 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Books and media off the shelf
38K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
West Custer Co Library District, 209 Main Street, Westcliffe.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every West Custer County Library District branch.
New in Westcliffe? 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 $1.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westcliffe cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $346K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $621K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $346K 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 2,781 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westcliffe | West Custer Co Library District | — | 34 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Silver Cliff | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. West Custer Co Library District is one branch of West Custer County Library District, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 4,300 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 Westcliffe
Does Westcliffe have a public library?
Yes: West Custer Co Library District, 209 Main Street, is a branch of West Custer County Library District, which serves 4,300 people. The branch is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Custer County Library District 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 Westcliffe’s library?
It logged 9.1 visits and lent 8.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Westcliffe’s civic life grade?
Westcliffe 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 Westcliffe.
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.