Photo: Eric Polk · CC BY-SA 4.0Deming’s library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Marshall Memorial Library serves Deming’s 14,758 residents. Last year it lent 250K books, movies and e-books and logged 30K visits.
Deming’s library, in brief
Most of Deming’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 94% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 6%. What people borrow ↓
Deming ranks 3rd in New Mexico for borrowing
Out of 36 New Mexico towns with a library of their own, Deming comes 3rd for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Marshall Memorial Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 90% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Marshall Memorial Library holds 55,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Deming’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Deming is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #31 of 46 in New Mexico. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Deming’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Marshall Memorial Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($26K–$43K) 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 →
54 community nonprofits are registered in Deming
3.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (36 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.7%
4.7% of Deming’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 Deming’s residents live; 2022.
94% of borrowing is digital
250K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 55K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
235,046 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Marshall Memorial Library serves 14,758 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 141 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
202 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Deming last year.
Find it
Marshall Memorial Library, 110 S Diamond Street, Deming.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $11.67 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Deming cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $325K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $325K 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 6,335 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deming | Marshall Memorial Library | 16.9 | 34 | C− |
| Ventura | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Mountain View | 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.
- 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 Deming
Does Deming have a public library?
Yes. Marshall Memorial Library, 110 S Diamond Street, serves Deming’s 14,758 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Marshall Memorial Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Deming’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 16.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Deming’s civic life grade?
C− Deming is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #31 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 Deming.
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.