Photo: Ketiltrout · CC BY-SA 4.0Fort Sumner’s library runs 198 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Fort Sumner Public Library serves 889 people in and around Fort Sumner. Last year it lent 4,052 print books and media and logged 4,773 visits.
Fort Sumner’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
2,149 cards for 889 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 ↓
Programs draw a crowd
3,344 people came to the system’s 176 programs last year: 3.8 per resident, against a typical 0.7, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
70% of the 176 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 14 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Fort Sumner Public Library spends $136 per resident a year, about twice the typical $54 for a library its size. Almost all of it (87%) comes from local taxes. 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; Fort Sumner Public Library serves 889 people in and around Fort Sumner, 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 Fort Sumner’s civic life grade
Fort Sumner 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 →
176 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Fort Sumner Public Library serves 889 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 Fort Sumner Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,052 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.
Find it
Fort Sumner Public Library, 235 W. Sumner Avenue, Fort Sumner.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Fort Sumner Public Library branch.
New in Fort Sumner? 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 Fort Sumner cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $121K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $103K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $121K 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 2,149 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. Fort Sumner Public Library serves 889 people in and around Fort Sumner, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Fort Sumner.
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 Fort Sumner
Does Fort Sumner have a public library?
Yes. Fort Sumner Public Library, 235 W. Sumner Avenue, serves 889 people in and around Fort Sumner (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fort Sumner Public 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 Fort Sumner’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 4.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Fort Sumner’s civic life grade?
Fort Sumner 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 Fort Sumner.
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.