Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Big Piney’s library is a branch of Sublette County Library System, which lends more per resident than 69% of systems its size
Big Piney’s library is the Big Piney Library, a branch of Sublette County Library System, which serves 8,969 people and lent 106K items last year.
The short version on Big Piney’s library
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 53% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 47%. What people borrow ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Sublette County Library System logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 97% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Sublette County Library System spends $138 per resident a year, about three 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; Big Piney’s library is a branch of Sublette County Library System, so they cover the whole system (8,969 people), not just the Big Piney branch.
What’s behind Big Piney’s civic life grade
Big Piney 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 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sublette County Library System 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.
Sublette County Library System serves 8,969 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
53% of borrowing is digital
106K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
56,042 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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
Big Piney Library, 106 Fish St., Big Piney.
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 Sublette County Library System branch.
New in Big Piney? 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 $1.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Big Piney cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M 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 5,411 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Piney | Big Piney Library fine-free | — | 47 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Marbleton | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Big Piney Library is one branch of Sublette County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,969 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 Big Piney
Does Big Piney have a public library?
Yes: Big Piney Library, 106 Fish St., is a branch of Sublette County Library System, which serves 8,969 people. The branch is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sublette County Library System 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 Big Piney’s library?
It logged 13.2 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Big Piney’s civic life grade?
Big Piney 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 Big Piney.
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.