Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pat Smith · Public domainCochiti Lake’s library logs 7.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library serves 438 people in and around Cochiti Lake. Last year it lent 884 print books and media and logged 3,314 visits.
The short version on Cochiti Lake’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 82% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 24%. A year at the library ↓
New Mexico pays a big share
30% of the budget comes from the state, and 70% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
390 cards for 438 people, or 89%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library spends $122 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
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; Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library serves 438 people in and around Cochiti Lake, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Cochiti Lake’s civic life grade
Cochiti Lake 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 →
A year at Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library serves 438 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
884 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
18 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library, 6515 Hoochaneetsa Blvd., Cochiti Lake.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library branch.
New in Cochiti Lake? 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 Cochiti Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $53K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $18K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $53K 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 390 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.
- System-wide. Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library serves 438 people in and around Cochiti Lake, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cochiti Lake.
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 Cochiti Lake
Does Cochiti Lake have a public library?
Yes. Irene S. Sweetkind Public Library, 6515 Hoochaneetsa Blvd., serves 438 people in and around Cochiti Lake (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Irene S. Sweetkind 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 Cochiti Lake’s library?
It logged 7.6 visits and lent 2.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Cochiti Lake’s civic life grade?
Cochiti Lake 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 Cochiti Lake.
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.