L. C. Ranch Headquarters · Photo: Fourlix · CC BY-SA 4.0Gila’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Gila Valley Library serves 285 people in and around Gila. Last year it lent 4,116 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,828 visits.
Gila’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
874 cards for 285 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
56% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 5%. What your card is worth ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Gila Valley Library logs 9.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Gila Valley Library spends $119 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Gila Valley Library serves 285 people in and around Gila, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Gila’s civic life grade
Gila 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Gila Valley Library serves 285 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Gila Valley Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,116 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
16 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Gila Valley Library, 411 Highway 211, Gila.
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 $2.26 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gila cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $34K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $77K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $34K 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 874 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gila | Gila Valley Library fine-free | — | 25 | — under 1,000 residents |
| 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.
- System-wide. Gila Valley Library serves 285 people in and around Gila, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Gila.
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 Gila
Does Gila have a public library?
Yes. Gila Valley Library, 411 Highway 211, serves 285 people in and around Gila (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gila Valley Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Gila’s library?
It logged 9.9 visits and lent 14.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Gila’s civic life grade?
Gila 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 Gila.
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.