This year’s Quotable Facts, Colorado’s 150th anniversary edition, is coming soon!
References
- The first public library was built in 1871 and located in Longmont, CO, according to the Colorado Encyclopedia.
Library Locations
- PLAR 2025 data – Total Central and Branches + Bookmobiles: 290
Physical items available for checkout
- PLAR 2025 data – Total number of physical print volumes: 8,640,326
- PLAR 2025 data – Total number of physical items minus Total number of physical print volumes: 1,495,916
Items circulated annually
- PLAR 2025 data – Total Circulation (Print and ebooks) + Circulation of Other Physical Items: 64,880,947
- The population of Colorado in 2025 according to Colorado’s State Demography Office: 6,012,561
Programs
- PLAR 2025 data – Total Live (Synchronous) Program Attendance: 2,547,640
- PLAR 2025 data – Number of Live (Synchronous) Program Sessions: 120,921
- The number of people who attended a home Broncos game, according to ESPN: 677,305
One-on-one technology help
- PLAR 2025 data – Do you provide 1:1 technology help to the public?: 97%
- 107 of 110 reporting libraries responded “yes”.
Internet computer usage
- PLAR 2025 data – Number of uses (sessions) of public internet computers per year: 2,855,998
Colorado library history
- Canon City’s library building was built in 1902 and is still operating, according to their website.
- Colorado’s first auto show took place in Denver in 1902, according to The Denver Post.
- Grants for 35 Carnegie libraries were awarded in CO between 1899-1917, according to the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation Colorado Historical Society.
- At least 17 of the buildings are still used as libraries, according to Wikipedia’s list of Carnegie libraries in Colorado (and fact checked by LRS).
- The Territorial Library and Cabinet (now the CO State Library) was established in 1861 before CO was even a state, according to the Colorado Department of Education.
Meeting and study rooms
- PLAR 2025 data – Study Room usage plus Meeting room usage: 465,654
- ~130,000–200,000 people climb Colorado fourteeners in a year, according to Medium.
Number of annual visits
- PLAR 2025 data – Annual Visits: 21,910,657
- ~12,573,547 vehicles drove through Eisenhower Tunnel in 2025, according to Colorado Department of Transportation.
Reference questions
- PLAR 2025 data – Annual Reference Transactions: 2,447,541
Staff
PLAR 2025 data – Total Paid Employees: 4,108
- 70 of 112 reporting libraries have 10 or less full-time staff members
Libraries that partner
PLAR 2025 data – Did your library partner with one or more organizations or groups in order to better serve your community?: 94%
- 96 of 102 reporting libraries answered “yes”.
Overdue fines
PLAR 2025 data – Overdue fines charged for overdue physical materials?: 84% (no)
- 95 of 112 responding libraries answered “No”.
Automatic Renewals
PLAR 2025 data – Do you have automatic renewals?: 60%
- 66 of 110 responding libraries answered “Yes”.