Photo: Rr0044 · CC BY-SA 3.0Española’s library lends 2.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Espanola Public Library serves Española’s 10,526 residents. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 34K visits.
The short version on Española’s library
More library cards than residents
46,904 cards for 10,526 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
New Mexico pays a big share
56% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Espanola Public Library holds 51,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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 Española’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Española is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #30 of 46 in New Mexico. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Espanola Public Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$60K) 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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Española
2.7 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.2%
5.2% of Española’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 Española’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Espanola Public Library serves 10,526 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 51K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Española last year.
Find it
Espanola Public Library, 313 North Paseo De Onate, Espanola.
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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Española cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $227K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $399K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $227K 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 46,904 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Española | Espanola Public Library | 2.3 | 41 | C− |
| Ohkay Owingeh | P'Oe Tsawa Community Library fine-free | — | 45 | — unincorporated |
| Santa Cruz | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Sombrillo | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Cuartelez | None of its own | — | — | — 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 Española
Does Española have a public library?
Yes. Espanola Public Library, 313 North Paseo De Onate, serves Española’s 10,526 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Espanola Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Española’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Española’s civic life grade?
C− Española is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #30 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 Española.
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.