Photo: afiler from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Gallup’s library logs 5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Octavia Fellin Public Library serves Gallup’s 21,899 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 70K books, movies and e-books and logged 109K visits.
Gallup’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
41,124 cards for 21,899 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 ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 31%. The building also logs about 152 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 81% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
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 Gallup’s civic life grade
On library visits and community nonprofits, Gallup is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns, #15 of 46 in New Mexico. Gallup is graded on two of the three inputs. Library visits hold the grade up; Gallup’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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 →
46 community nonprofits are registered in Gallup
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Octavia Fellin Public Library serves 21,899 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
70K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 90K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
15,808 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 kids’ programs 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 Gallup last year.
2 places to borrow in Gallup
Octavia Fellin Public Library, 115 West Hill Avenue, Gallup.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Gallup? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Gallup
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gallup cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 41,124 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup | Octavia Fellin Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 42 | C+ |
| Catalpa Canyon | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Church Rock | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Sundance | 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 Gallup
Does Gallup have a public library?
Yes. Octavia Fellin Public Library, 115 West Hill Avenue, serves Gallup’s 21,899 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Octavia Fellin 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 Gallup’s library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Gallup’s civic life grade?
C+ Gallup is ahead of 41% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 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 Gallup.
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.