Photo: Terry Umbenhaur · CC BY-SA 3.0Las Cruces’ library runs 13 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library serves Las Cruces’s 111,385 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 432K books, movies and e-books and logged 277K visits.
The short version on Las Cruces’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004. Today’s library there has 44,500 square feet. The buildings ↓
Programs lean toward adults
61% of the 1,469 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 200 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Three places to borrow in Las Cruces
Las Cruces’s library system runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 Las Cruces’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Las Cruces is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #34 of 46 in New Mexico. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #273. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$69K) 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 →
291 community nonprofits are registered in Las Cruces
2.6 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 (109 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 8 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.9%
3.9% of Las Cruces’ 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 Las Cruces’ residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 2004
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E Picacho Avenue, Las Cruces.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Las Cruces? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library
Branigan, Thomas, Memorial Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 15, 2004. It is significant for its architecture and art at the local level. Its architecture is described as Pueblo Revival.
More about the building →Other libraries in Las Cruces
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library serves 111,385 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 85 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
432K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 127K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
102,759 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Las Cruces last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Las Cruces cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 50,309 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Cruces | Thomas Branigan Memorial Library fine-free | 3.9 | 60 | D |
| Mesilla | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Picacho Hills | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Tortugas | 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 Las Cruces
Does Las Cruces have a public library?
Yes. Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E Picacho Avenue, serves Las Cruces’ 111,385 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thomas Branigan Memorial 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 Las Cruces’ library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Las Cruces’ civic life grade?
D Las Cruces is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #34 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 Las Cruces.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.