Photo: John Diebolt · Public domainTucson’s library is a branch of Pima County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 85% of systems its size
Tucson’s library is the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, a branch of Pima County Public Library, which serves 1,086,634 people and lent 1.7M items last year.
What stands out about Joel D. Valdez Main Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Tucson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Tucson is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #43 of 68 in Arizona. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #212. Tucson is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Tucson’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
1,859 community nonprofits are registered in Tucson
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (486 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 74 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.2%
5.2% of Tucson’s 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 Tucson’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Pima County Public Library serves 1,086,634 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
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.
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.
Books and media off the shelf
1.7M print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
About 92 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
14 places to borrow in Tucson
Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N Stone Ave, Tucson.
Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every Pima County Public Library branch.
New in Tucson? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Pima County Public Library branches in Tucson
And 1 more in Tucson.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tucson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $45M.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tucson | Joel D. Valdez Main Library | — | 42 | C− |
| Catalina Foothills | Dusenberry-River Branch Library | — | 39 | — unincorporated |
| Casas Adobes | Nanini Branch Library | — | 48 | — unincorporated |
| Flowing Wells | Flowing Wells Branch Library | — | 38 | — unincorporated |
| Drexel Heights | Southwest Branch Library | — | 35 | — unincorporated |
| Tanque Verde | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Tucson Mountains | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Summit | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Rincon Valley | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Vail | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Kleindale | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Joel D. Valdez Main 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 Tucson
Does Tucson have a public library?
Yes: Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N Stone Ave, is a branch of Pima County Public Library, which serves 1,086,634 people. The branch is open about 42 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 Tucson’s 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 Tucson’s civic life grade?
C− Tucson is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #43 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 Tucson.
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.