Photo: AllenS · Public domainBernalillo’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Town of Bernalillo Public Library serves Bernalillo’s 8,977 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
The short version on Bernalillo’s library
More library cards than residents
9,258 cards for 8,977 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Town of Bernalillo Public Library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 88% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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 Bernalillo’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bernalillo is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #38 of 46 in New Mexico. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Bernalillo’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$80K) 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Bernalillo
2.5 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.3%
4.3% of Bernalillo’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 Bernalillo’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Town of Bernalillo Public Library serves 8,977 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
2,280 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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 Bernalillo last year.
Find it
Town of Bernalillo Public Library, 124 Calle Malinche, Bernalillo.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bernalillo? The Handbook →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 Bernalillo cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $274K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $231K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $274K 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 9,258 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Rancho | Loma Colorado Main Library fine-free | 5.1 | 55 | D |
| Bernalillo | Town of Bernalillo Public Library fine-free | 1.4 | 41 | D |
| Placitas | Placitas Community Library fine-free | — | 33 | A+ |
| Santa Ana Pueblo | Santa Ana Pueblo Community Library fine-free | — | 45 | — 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Bernalillo
Does Bernalillo have a public library?
Yes. Town of Bernalillo Public Library, 124 Calle Malinche, serves Bernalillo’s 8,977 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Town of Bernalillo 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 Bernalillo’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Bernalillo’s civic life grade?
D Bernalillo is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #38 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 Bernalillo.
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.