A library is classified as a “Tourism Community Library” if it meets three or more of the following criteria:
- The library’s expenditure per capita for their Legal Service Area (LSA) population is over $117. This number is derived from the most recent year of PLAR data found here.
- The library is located in a county in which 78% or more of the vacant homes are unoccupied due to seasonal use, which indicates second-home ownership. This number is derived from the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Table B25004.
- The library is located in a community in which 11% or more of the working population is employed in arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services. This number is derived from the American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Table S2403
- The library is located in a county in which Direct Travel Spending per Capita is great than .903%. This number is derived from The Economic Impact of Travel Report from the Colorado Office of Tourism.
The following libraries are classified as Tourism Community Libraries as of May 13, 2026*:
- Basalt Regional Library District
- Eagle Valley Library District
- East Routt Library District
- Estes Valley Public Library District
- Grand County Library District
- Gunnison County Public Library
- Lake City Public Library (Hinsdale Library District)
- La Veta Regional Library District
- Lake County Public Library
- Lone Cone Library District (Norwood)
- Mineral County School/Regional Library
- Northern Chaffee County Library District (Buena Vista)
- Ouray Library District
- Pitkin County Library
- San Miguel Library District #1/Telluride
- Silverton Public Library
- Southern Chaffee County Regional Library District (Salida)
- Summit County Library
- Vail Public Library
*Note: Some archive reports available at LRS.org will still contain the prior, smaller group of libraries in the “Resort” category, as it was previously called.
