Photo: Davishan99 · CC BY-SA 3.0Eagle Nest’s library runs 83 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Eagle Nest Public Library serves Eagle Nest’s 315 residents. Last year it lent 762 books, movies and e-books and logged 600 visits.
Eagle Nest’s library, in brief
New Mexico pays a big share
97% of the budget comes from the state, and 2% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
More library cards than residents
362 cards for 315 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Eagle Nest Public Library serves 315 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 26 hours a week. 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 ↓
Most of Eagle Nest’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 51% of loans. Print still makes up 49%. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Eagle Nest’s civic life grade
Eagle Nest 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Eagle Nest Public Library serves 315 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Eagle Nest Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
51% of borrowing is digital
762 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 7,522 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0 time last year, on average.
389 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
26 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.
Find it
Eagle Nest Public Library, 74 N Tomboy Dr, Eagle Nest.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Eagle Nest? 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 Eagle Nest cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $23K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $23K 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 362 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Eagle Nest
Does Eagle Nest have a public library?
Yes. Eagle Nest Public Library, 74 N Tomboy Dr, serves Eagle Nest’s 315 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eagle Nest 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 Eagle Nest’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 2.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Eagle Nest’s civic life grade?
Eagle Nest 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 Eagle Nest.
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.