Colstrip’s library is a branch of Rosebud County Library, which lends less per resident than 71% of systems its size
Colstrip’s library is the Bicentennial Library of Colstrip, a branch of Rosebud County Library, which serves 9,091 people and lent 26K items last year.
What stands out about Bicentennial Library of Colstrip
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Colstrip’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Colstrip is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. Colstrip is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Colstrip’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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Colstrip
8.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
10.5%
10.5% of Colstrip’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.0% in the typical Montana 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 Colstrip’s residents live; 2022.
About 9 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 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rosebud County Library serves 9,091 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rosebud County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
26K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,733 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Bicentennial Library of Colstrip, 419 Willow Ave, Colstrip.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Rosebud County Library branch.
New in Colstrip? 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 $1.44 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Colstrip cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $356K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $512K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $356K 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 2,513 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bicentennial Library of Colstrip is one branch of Rosebud County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 9,091 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 Colstrip
Does Colstrip have a public library?
Yes: Bicentennial Library of Colstrip, 419 Willow Ave, is a branch of Rosebud County Library, which serves 9,091 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rosebud County 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 Colstrip’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 2.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Colstrip’s civic life grade?
A+ Colstrip is ahead of 95% 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 Colstrip.
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.