Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0Chugwater’s library is a branch of Platte County Library System, which lends less per resident than 53% of systems its size
Chugwater’s library is the Chugwater Branch Library, a branch of Platte County Library System, which serves 8,546 people and lent 75K items last year.
The short version on Chugwater’s library
Open only about 9 hours a week
The Chugwater branch keeps short hours: about 9 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 59% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 41%. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
93% of the 216 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.8 a week for ages 0–5. 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; Chugwater’s library is a branch of Platte County Library System, so they cover the whole system (8,546 people), not just the Chugwater branch.
What’s behind Chugwater’s civic life grade
Chugwater 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 →
59% of borrowing is digital
75K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
44,134 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Platte County Library System serves 8,546 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Platte County Library System system. The library’s own count.
About 4 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
Chugwater Branch Library, 301 2nd St., Chugwater.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Platte County Library System branch.
New in Chugwater? 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 $3.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chugwater cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $348K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $348K 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 5,966 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Chugwater Branch Library is one branch of Platte County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,546 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 Chugwater
Does Chugwater have a public library?
Yes: Chugwater Branch Library, 301 2nd St., is a branch of Platte County Library System, which serves 8,546 people. The branch is open about 9 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Platte 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 Chugwater’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 8.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chugwater’s civic life grade?
Chugwater 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 Chugwater.
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.