Colfax Municipal Building · Photo: Jeff the quiet · CC0Colfax’s library lends 7.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Colfax Public Library serves Colfax’s 4,387 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,921 visits.
The short version on Colfax’s library
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 81% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 86%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
83% of the 121 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 63 items per child in Colfax last year. 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.
What’s behind Colfax’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Colfax is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. Colfax is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Colfax’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Colfax
3.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.0%
10.0% of Colfax’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Wisconsin 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 Colfax’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Colfax last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Colfax Public Library serves 4,387 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.9 times last year, on average.
5,469 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Colfax Public Library, 613 Main St., Colfax.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Colfax? 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 $3.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Colfax cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $171K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $564K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $171K 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 1,045 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Colfax
Does Colfax have a public library?
Yes. Colfax Public Library, 613 Main St., serves Colfax’s 4,387 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Colfax 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 Colfax’s library?
It logged 1.1 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Colfax’s civic life grade?
B+ Colfax is ahead of 69% 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 Colfax.
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.