Photo: User:Swampyank · CC BY-SA 3.0Cody’s library runs 58 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Park County Library System serves 30,735 people in and around Cody. Last year it lent 383K books, movies and e-books and logged 187K visits.
What Cody’s library is like
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Park County Library System ran 1,781 programs last year, about 34 a week. That’s 58 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 35,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Park County Library System logs 6.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 44% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 88% of similar-size libraries. 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; Park County Library System serves 30,735 people in and around Cody, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Cody’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cody is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #6 of 24 in Wyoming. Cody is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Cody’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 →
180 community nonprofits are registered in Cody
17.5 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 (31 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.5%
9.5% of Cody’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.3% in the typical Wyoming 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 Cody’s residents live; 2022.
About 21 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Park County Library System serves 30,735 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 52 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Park County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
383K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
69,034 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Park County Library, 1500 Heart Mountain Street, Cody.
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 Park County Library System branch.
New in Cody? 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 Cody cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 14,215 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Park County Library System serves 30,735 people in and around Cody, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cody.
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 Cody
Does Cody have a public library?
Yes. Park County Library System, 1500 Heart Mountain Street, serves 30,735 people in and around Cody (the survey’s count) and is open about 54 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Park 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 Cody’s library?
It logged 6.1 visits and lent 12.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Cody’s civic life grade?
A+ Cody is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #6 of 24 in Wyoming. 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 Cody.
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.