Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Moab’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Grand County Public Library serves 9,706 people in and around Moab. Last year it lent 167K books, movies and e-books and logged 105K visits.
The short version on Moab’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Grand County Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
80% of the 599 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.1 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 35% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Grand County Public Library spends $150 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. 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; Grand County Public Library serves 9,706 people in and around Moab, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Moab’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Moab is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 106 in Utah. Moab is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Moab near the top nationally; Moab’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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in Moab
14.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
16.3%
16.3% of Moab’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.2% in the typical Utah 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 Moab’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Grand County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Grand County Public Library serves 9,706 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
167K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
39,356 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Find it
Grand County Public Library, 257 East Center Street, Moab.
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 Grand County Public Library branch.
New in Moab? 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 $2.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Moab cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 6,973 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Grand County Public Library serves 9,706 people in and around Moab, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Moab.
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 Moab
Does Moab have a public library?
Yes. Grand County Public Library, 257 East Center Street, serves 9,706 people in and around Moab (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Grand County Public Library 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 Moab’s library?
It logged 10.8 visits and lent 17.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Moab’s civic life grade?
A+ Moab is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 of 106 in Utah. 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 Moab.
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.