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Flowing Wells Branch Library · part of Pima County Public Library

Flowing Wells’ library is a branch of Pima County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 85% of systems its size

Flowing Wells’s library is the Flowing Wells Branch Library, a branch of Pima County Public Library, which serves 1,086,634 people and lent 1.7M items last year.

1730 W Wetmore Rd, Tucson 85705 · about 38 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: unincorporated places have too few inputs
Borrowed a year
1.7M
1.6 per resident
Visits a year
2.5M
2.3 per resident · Above typical (2.1)
Programs & events
11,916
about 229 a week · 193K attended
Cardholders
27%
296,271 cards
Open
38 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Flowing Wells Branch Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Flowing Wells’ civic life grade

Flowing Wells isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Pima County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Flowing Wells’ overall grade.

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 →

Places to belong

Volunteering in Flowing Wells

Flowing Wells is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.

Volunteering

4.6%

4.6% of Flowing Wells’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.0% in the typical Arizona 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 Flowing Wells’ residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.3 visits · typical 2.1Higher than 58%
Borrowing per resident 1.6 print items · typical 3.2Lower than 85%
Kids’ borrowing 0.6 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 86%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.2Lower than 61%
Programs offered 11 per 1,000 residents · typical 9Higher than 59%
Cardholders 27% of residents · typical 41%Lower than 77%
Spending $42 per resident · typical $36Higher than 57%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Pima County Public Library serves 1,086,634 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 31 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pima County Public Library system. The library’s own count.

2.5M
visits
2.3 per resident
1.7M
loans, print + digital
1.6 per resident
12K
programs & events
193K attended
296K
library cards
27% of people served
Every open hour31items borrowed
Every week3,714people at a program
Every day102Wi-Fi sessions
350 staff (full-time equivalent)740 public computers

Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.

What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

1.7M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

1.7Mloans
Books & media (adults) 59%Kids’ books & media 41%
Kids & programs

About 92 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Flowing Wells →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–54,099
Ages 6–11690
Teens920
Adults5,439
All ages768
Little ones
78.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

696K
kids’ books & media borrowed
193K
people at programs
11,916
programs
The building

Find it

Flowing Wells Branch Library, 1730 W Wetmore Rd, Tucson.

38
hours open a week
13,000
square feet
With a card

Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every Pima County Public Library branch.

New in Flowing Wells? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Flowing Wells cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$42 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $45M.

Local taxes 94%State 0%Federal 1%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $28M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $45M budget.

Late fines apply to some overdue items.

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 296,271 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
Flowing WellsFlowing Wells Branch Library—38— unincorporated
TucsonJoel D. Valdez Main Library—42C−
Casas AdobesNanini Branch Library—48— unincorporated

Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • Not reported for 2024: books & media on the shelves. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
  • Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
  • System-wide. Flowing Wells Branch Library is one branch of Pima County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 1,086,634 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 Flowing Wells

Does Flowing Wells have a public library?

Yes: Flowing Wells Branch Library, 1730 W Wetmore Rd, is a branch of Pima County Public Library, which serves 1,086,634 people. The branch is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Pima County Public Library fine-free?

It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Flowing Wells’ library?

It logged 2.3 visits and lent 1.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.

What is Flowing Wells’ civic life grade?

Flowing Wells isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Pima County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Flowing Wells.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.