Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Las Vegas’ library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Carnegie Public Library serves Las Vegas’s 13,166 residents. Last year it lent 7,415 print books and media and logged 9,084 visits.
What Las Vegas’s library is like
Carnegie Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Carnegie Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
98% of the 170 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Carnegie Public Library holds 43,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Las Vegas’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Las Vegas is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #29 of 46 in New Mexico. Las Vegas’ count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$56K) 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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in Las Vegas
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.8%
5.8% of Las Vegas’ 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 Vegas’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Carnegie Public Library serves 13,166 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
7,415 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Vegas last year.
Find it
Carnegie Public Library, 500 National Avenue, Las Vegas.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Las Vegas? 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 Las Vegas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $430K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $114K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $430K 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 6,473 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.
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 Vegas
Does Las Vegas have a public library?
Yes. Carnegie Public Library, 500 National Avenue, serves Las Vegas’ 13,166 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Carnegie 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 Las Vegas’ library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Las Vegas’ civic life grade?
C− Las Vegas is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #29 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 Vegas.
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.