Bayo Road · Photo: Clyde Charles Brown · CC BY-SA 4.0Los Alamos’ library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Los Alamos County Library System serves 19,419 people in and around Los Alamos. Last year it lent 371K books, movies and e-books and logged 226K visits.
The short version on Los Alamos’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Los Alamos County Library System logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 801 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 9.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Los Alamos County Library System spends $163 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) 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; Los Alamos County Library System serves 19,419 people in and around Los Alamos, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Los Alamos’ civic life grade
Los Alamos isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Los Alamos County Library System, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Los Alamos
Los Alamos is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
15.4%
15.4% of Los Alamos’ 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 Los Alamos’ residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 63 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Los Alamos County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Los Alamos County Library System serves 19,419 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
371K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
92,967 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 12 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Mesa Public Library, 2400 Central Avenue, Los Alamos.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Los Alamos County Library System branch.
New in Los Alamos? The Handbook →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 $1.78 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Los Alamos cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.2M 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 11,802 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Los Alamos County Library System serves 19,419 people in and around Los Alamos, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Los Alamos.
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 Los Alamos
Does Los Alamos have a public library?
Yes. Los Alamos County Library System, 2400 Central Avenue, serves 19,419 people in and around Los Alamos (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Los Alamos County Library System 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 Los Alamos’ library?
It logged 11.6 visits and lent 19.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Los Alamos’ civic life grade?
Los Alamos isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Los Alamos County Library System, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Los Alamos.
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.