Photo: Mitchell O'Brien · CC BY-SA 4.0Columbia Falls’ library is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, which lends more per resident than 51% of systems its size
Columbia Falls’s library is the Flathead County Library Columbia Falls, a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, which serves 96,606 people and lent 369K items last year.
The short version on Columbia Falls’s library
Few programs for a library this size
The Flathead County Library Kalispell system offered 322 programs last year, 3.3 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
81% of the 322 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.1 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Columbia Falls’s library is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, so they cover the whole system (96,606 people), not just the Columbia Falls branch.
What’s behind Columbia Falls’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Columbia Falls is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. Columbia Falls is graded on two of the three inputs. Columbia Falls’ 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 →
25 community nonprofits are registered in Columbia Falls
4.5 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Columbia Falls’ 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 Columbia Falls’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Flathead County Library Kalispell serves 96,606 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Flathead County Library Kalispell system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
369K 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 5 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
Flathead County Library Columbia Falls, 130 6th St. W #c, Columbia Falls.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Flathead County Library Kalispell branch.
New in Columbia Falls? 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 $2.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Columbia Falls cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.5M 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 37,669 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Flathead County Library Columbia Falls is one branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 96,606 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 Columbia Falls
Does Columbia Falls have a public library?
Yes: Flathead County Library Columbia Falls, 130 6th St. W #c, is a branch of Flathead County Library Kalispell, which serves 96,606 people. The branch is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Flathead County Library Kalispell 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 Columbia Falls’ library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Columbia Falls’ civic life grade?
B− Columbia Falls is ahead of 45% 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 Columbia Falls.
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.