El Rito’s library logs 5.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
El Rito Public Library serves 749 people in and around El Rito. Last year it lent 3,033 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,127 visits.
El Rito’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,340 cards for 749 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 ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
76% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 6%. What your card is worth ↓
A well-funded system
El Rito Public Library spends $143 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
66% of the 61 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 24 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; El Rito Public Library serves 749 people in and around El Rito, 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 El Rito’s civic life grade
El Rito isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of El Rito Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
El Rito Public Library serves 749 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole El Rito Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,033 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
732 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
61 programs a year
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.
Find it
El Rito Public Library, 182 Placitas Road, El Rito.
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 El Rito cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $107K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $62K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $107K 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 1,340 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. El Rito Public Library serves 749 people in and around El Rito, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just El Rito.
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 El Rito
Does El Rito have a public library?
Yes. El Rito Public Library, 182 Placitas Road, serves 749 people in and around El Rito (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is El Rito Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is El Rito’s library?
It logged 5.5 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is El Rito’s civic life grade?
El Rito isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary), its library is a branch of El Rito Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in El Rito.
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.