Photo: Public domain · Public domainRuidoso’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Ruidoso Public Library serves Ruidoso’s 7,679 residents. Last year it lent 85K books, movies and e-books and logged 91K visits.
Ruidoso’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
20,732 cards for 7,679 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Ruidoso ranks 2nd in New Mexico for library use
Out of 36 New Mexico towns with a library of their own, Ruidoso comes 2nd for visits per resident. It’s also #2 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
Ruidoso uses its library more than almost any town its size
Ruidoso Public Library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 9.3 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
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 Ruidoso’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ruidoso is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #4 of 46 in New Mexico. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
51 community nonprofits are registered in Ruidoso
6.6 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Ruidoso’s 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 Ruidoso’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 42 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ruidoso Public Library serves 7,679 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
85K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 43K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
13,487 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Ruidoso last year.
Find it
Ruidoso Public Library, 107 Kansas City Road, Ruidoso.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ruidoso? 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 $2.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ruidoso cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $484K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $484K 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 20,732 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruidoso | Ruidoso Public Library | 11.0 | 38 | A− |
| Ruidoso Downs | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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 Ruidoso
Does Ruidoso have a public library?
Yes. Ruidoso Public Library, 107 Kansas City Road, serves Ruidoso’s 7,679 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ruidoso 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 Ruidoso’s library?
It logged 11.9 visits and lent 11.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ruidoso’s civic life grade?
A− Ruidoso is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on civic life, #4 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 Ruidoso.
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.