Photo: François5000 · CC BY-SA 4.0Bluff’s library is a branch of San Juan County Library, which lends less per resident than 57% of systems its size
Bluff’s library is the San Juan County Library Bluff Branch, a branch of San Juan County Library, which serves 14,358 people and lent 49K items last year.
What stands out about San Juan County Library Bluff Branch
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Bluff’s civic life grade
Bluff 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 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
San Juan County Library serves 14,358 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole San Juan County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
49K 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 3 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
San Juan County Library Bluff Branch, 480 E Black Locust, Bluff.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every San Juan County Library branch.
New in Bluff? 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 $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bluff cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $593K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $983K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $593K 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 6,050 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. San Juan County Library Bluff Branch is one branch of San Juan County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 14,358 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 Bluff
Does Bluff have a public library?
Yes: San Juan County Library Bluff Branch, 480 E Black Locust, is a branch of San Juan County Library, which serves 14,358 people. The branch is open about 8 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Juan 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 Bluff’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Bluff’s civic life grade?
Bluff 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 Bluff.
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.