Leigh Lake Ranger Patrol Cabin · Photo: National Park Service inventory · Public domainAlta’s library is a branch of Teton County Library, which lends more per resident than 89% of systems its size
Alta’s library is the Alta Branch Library, a branch of Teton County Library, which serves 23,232 people and lent 221K items last year.
What Alta’s library is like
One of the busiest library systems its size
The Teton County Library system logs 8.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 9.5 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Teton County Library system spends $200 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (86%) 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; Alta’s library is a branch of Teton County Library, so they cover the whole system (23,232 people), not just the Alta branch.
What’s behind Alta’s civic life grade
Alta 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 45 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Teton County Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Teton County Library serves 23,232 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Books and media off the shelf
221K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Alta’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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
Alta Branch Library, 15 Alta School Rd, Alta.
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 Teton County Library branch.
New in Alta? 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 $1.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alta cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $4.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.6M 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 13,368 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. Alta Branch Library is one branch of Teton County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 23,232 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 Alta
Does Alta have a public library?
Yes: Alta Branch Library, 15 Alta School Rd, is a branch of Teton County Library, which serves 23,232 people. The branch is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Teton County 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 Alta’s library?
It logged 8.6 visits and lent 9.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Alta’s civic life grade?
Alta 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 Alta.
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.