Photo: BrianHagan · CC BY-SA 4.0Colton’s library is a branch of Siouxland Libraries, which lends more per resident than 78% of systems its size
Colton’s library is the Colton Branch-Siouxland Libraries, a branch of Siouxland Libraries, which serves 255,913 people and lent 2.1M items last year.
Colton’s library, in brief
Open only about 12 hours a week
The Colton branch keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 64% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
77% of the 2,024 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 24 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; Colton’s library is a branch of Siouxland Libraries, so they cover the whole system (255,913 people), not just the Colton branch.
What’s behind Colton’s civic life grade
Colton 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 →
About 30 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Siouxland Libraries serves 255,913 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 89 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Siouxland Libraries system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2.1M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
607,415 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Colton Branch-Siouxland Libraries, 402 S Dakota Avenue, Colton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Siouxland Libraries branch.
New in Colton? 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 $2.92 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Colton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 82,121 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Colton Branch-Siouxland Libraries is one branch of Siouxland Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 255,913 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 Colton
Does Colton have a public library?
Yes: Colton Branch-Siouxland Libraries, 402 S Dakota Avenue, is a branch of Siouxland Libraries, which serves 255,913 people. The branch is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Siouxland Libraries 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 Colton’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 8.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Colton’s civic life grade?
Colton 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 Colton.
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.