Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Silver City’s library runs 169 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Silver City Public Library serves Silver City’s 255 residents. Last year it lent 386 print books and media and logged 600 visits.
The short version on Silver City’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
66% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 19%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Silver City Public Library serves 255 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 19 hours a week
Silver City Public Library keeps short hours: about 19 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Silver City’s civic life grade
Silver City isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
43 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Silver City last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Silver City Public Library serves 255 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Silver City Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
386 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 8,572 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0 time last year, on average.
Find it
Silver City Public Library, 408 Main St., Silver City.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Silver City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $19K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8,700 worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $19K 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 209 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Silver City
Does Silver City have a public library?
Yes. Silver City Public Library, 408 Main St., serves Silver City’s 255 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 19 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Silver City Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Silver City’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Silver City’s civic life grade?
Silver City isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Silver City.
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.