Photo: Ixnayonthetimmay · CC BY-SA 4.0Show Low’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Show Low Public Library serves Show Low’s 12,535 residents. Last year it lent 99K books, movies and e-books and logged 158K visits.
What Show Low’s library is like
People come to Show Low Public Library a lot
Show Low Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 99% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Nearly everyone in Show Low has a card
11,207 cards for 12,535 people, or 89%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 4% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 83% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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.
What’s behind Show Low’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Show Low is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #5 of 68 in Arizona. Show Low is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
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 →
63 community nonprofits are registered in Show Low
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
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.
Show Low Public Library serves 12,535 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
99K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,261 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Show Low last year.
Find it
Show Low Public Library, 181 N 9th St., Show Low.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Show Low? 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 $2.27 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Show Low cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $655K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $655K 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 11,207 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Show Low | Show Low Public Library fine-free | 7.9 | 46 | A |
| Pinetop-Lakeside | Pinetop-Lakeside Public Library fine-free | 6.9 | 41 | B |
| Wagon Wheel | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Linden | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| White Mountain Lake | None of its own | — | — | — 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).
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Show Low Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Show Low
Does Show Low have a public library?
Yes. Show Low Public Library, 181 N 9th St., serves Show Low’s 12,535 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Show Low Public Library 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 Show Low’s library?
It logged 12.6 visits and lent 7.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Show Low’s civic life grade?
A Show Low is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #5 of 68 in Arizona. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Show Low.
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.