Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Albuquerque’s library is a branch of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System, which lends less per resident than 55% of systems its size
Albuquerque’s library is the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Main Library, a branch of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System, which serves 676,444 people and lent 4.4M items last year.
The short version on Albuquerque’s library
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 54% of loans, more per resident than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 46%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Main Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2019. Today’s library there has 119,050 square feet. The buildings ↓
16 branches in Albuquerque
Albuquerque has 16 branches of the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System, which serves 676,444 people across the area. One card works at all of them, and at every other branch in the system. The buildings ↓
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; Albuquerque’s library is a branch of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System, so they cover the whole system (676,444 people), not just the Albuquerque branch.
What’s behind Albuquerque’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Albuquerque is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #19 of 46 in New Mexico. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #142. Albuquerque is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Albuquerque’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$85K) 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 →
2,071 community nonprofits are registered in Albuquerque
3.7 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 (543 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 98 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of Albuquerque’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.2% in the typical New Mexico 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 Albuquerque’s residents live; 2022.
54% of borrowing is digital
4.4M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,358,170 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System serves 676,444 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 103 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System system. The library’s own count.
About 88 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.
A National Register landmark since 2019
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Main Library, 501 Copper Ave. NW, Albuquerque.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System branch.
New in Albuquerque? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Main Library
Main Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 13, 2019. It is significant for its architecture, town planning, politics and education at the state level.
The Main Library is a public library in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico and the main branch of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library system. Opened in 1975, it was designed by local architect George Pearl and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
More about the building →Other Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System branches in Albuquerque
And 3 more in Albuquerque.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Albuquerque cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $19M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $67M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $19M 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 321,868 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corrales | Corrales Community Library fine-free | 5.3 | 42 | A− |
| Rio Rancho | Loma Colorado Main Library fine-free | 5.1 | 55 | D |
| Albuquerque | Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Main Library fine-free | — | 46 | C+ |
| South Valley | South Valley Library fine-free | — | 39 | — unincorporated |
| North Valley | North Valley Library fine-free | — | 39 | — unincorporated |
| Los Ranchos de Albuquerque | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Kirtland AFB | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Carnuel | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sandia Heights | 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.
- System-wide. Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Main Library is one branch of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 676,444 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 Albuquerque
Does Albuquerque have a public library?
Yes: Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Main Library, 501 Copper Ave. NW, is a branch of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System, which serves 676,444 people. The branch is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System 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 Albuquerque’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 6.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Albuquerque’s civic life grade?
C+ Albuquerque is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #19 of 46 in New Mexico. 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 Albuquerque.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.