High Plains Library District
High Plains Library District is a library district based in Greeley (Weld County), Colorado, serving a legal service area of 315,735 residents through 15 library buildings and two bookmobiles. Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks third for paid staff per resident and eighth for public computers per resident and records the seventh-smallest decline in visits since FY 2019.
Among the 101 profiled systems in Colorado, it ranks third for public computers, third for print volumes, sixth for total visits and sixth for operating spending. Against the median system of its size class, it records 2.6 times the operating spending per resident and 2.2 times the program attendance per resident.
High Plains against the 122 systems of its size class
High Plains in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,337,125
- Physical checkouts
- 1,706,326
- …of children's materials
- 594,116
- Electronic checkouts
- 471,830
- …of e-books
- 177,733
- …of e-audio
- 255,246
- Registered users
- 114,841
- Program sessions
- 10,130
- Program attendance
- 141,138
- Print volumes
- 530,536
- Audio items (physical)
- 32,246
- Video items (physical)
- 72,324
- Public computers
- 493
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 41,236
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 355.0
- Operating spending
- $29.1 million
- …on books and other materials
- $2.3 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where High Plains gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $83.7 million, or $265.17 per resident. The local-government share sits 3 percentage points below the combined share for the 101 profiled systems in Colorado. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Library districts of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, one records more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Daniel Boone Regional Library in Missouri.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima Valley Regional Library | Yakima, WA | 251,520 | 1.63 | 2.09 | $32.36 |
| Lake County Public Library | Merrillville, IN | 251,041 | 2.74 | 6.13 | $51.60 |
| Capital Area District Library | Lansing, MI | 244,451 | 3.08 | 6.76 | $54.51 |
| Kansas City Public Library | Kansas City, MO | 232,498 | 5.68 | 3.90 | $130.95 |
| Mohave County Library District | Kingman, AZ | 228,107 | 1.47 | 1.59 | $26.61 |
| Daniel Boone Regional Library | Columbia, MO | 223,840 | 2.16 | 7.56 | $54.65 |
High Plains since FY 2019
Visits were 3% below the FY 2019 count of 1.4 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 12% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to High Plains programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 62% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 14 people each.
High Plains, building by building
The 15 buildings cover 230,967 square feet in total, 0.73 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Farr Branch Library at 38,000 square feet; the smallest is Kersey Library at 800. The longest hours are at Fort Lupton Public/School Library, 63.7 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Valley Branch Library | Branch | Firestone | 62 | 35,000 |
| Centennial Park Branch Library | Branch | Greeley | 62 | 28,000 |
| Eaton Public Library | Branch | Eaton | 56 | 12,500 |
| Erie Community Library | Branch | Erie | 62 | 20,000 |
| Farr Branch Library | Branch | Greeley | 62 | 38,000 |
| Fort Lupton Public/School Library | Branch | Fort Lupton | 63.7 | 16,000 |
| Glenn A. Jones, M.d. Memorial Library | Branch | Johnstown | 53 | 13,000 |
| Hudson Public Library | Branch | Hudson | 54 | 11,367 |
| Johnstown/Jones Library | Branch | Johnstown | 28 | 13,300 |
| Kersey Library | Branch | Kersey | 20 | 800 |
| Linc Library Innovation Center | Branch | Greeley | 62 | 7,000 |
| Nantes Library | Branch | Gilcrest | 44 | 4,000 |
| Northern Plains Public Library | Branch | Ault | 54 | 6,000 |
| Platteville Public Library | Branch | Platteville | 44 | 7,500 |
| Riverside Library and Cultural Center | Branch | Evans | 62 | 18,500 |
| High Plains Library District Bookmobile | Two bookmobiles | Greeley | 8 |
Nearest in size within Colorado
- Arapahoe Library District · Englewood · 277,382 residents
- Douglas County Libraries · Castle Rock · 383,911 residents
- Aurora Public Library · Aurora · 394,380 residents
- Rangeview Library District · Thornton · 406,718 residents