Fort Halleck · Photo: Timothy H. O'Sullivan · Public domainElk Mountain’s library is a branch of Carbon County Library System, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size
Elk Mountain’s library is the Elk Mountain Library, a branch of Carbon County Library System, which serves 14,334 people and lent 62K items last year.
Elk Mountain’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
The Carbon County Library System ran 1,300 programs last year, about 25 a week. That’s 91 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 10 hours a week
The Elk Mountain branch keeps short hours: about 10 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Elk Mountain’s library is a branch of Carbon County Library System, so they cover the whole system (14,334 people), not just the Elk Mountain branch.
What’s behind Elk Mountain’s civic life grade
Elk Mountain 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 →
About 8 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 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Carbon County Library System serves 14,334 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Carbon County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
62K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
20,678 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Elk Mountain Library, 105 Bridge St., Elk Mountain.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Carbon County Library System branch.
New in Elk Mountain? 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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elk Mountain cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $545K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $545K 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 5,992 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Elk Mountain Library is one branch of Carbon County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 14,334 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 Elk Mountain
Does Elk Mountain have a public library?
Yes: Elk Mountain Library, 105 Bridge St., is a branch of Carbon County Library System, which serves 14,334 people. The branch is open about 10 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carbon 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 Elk Mountain’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Elk Mountain’s civic life grade?
Elk Mountain 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 Elk Mountain.
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.