Photo: Jeff Vincent · CC BY 2.0Truth or Consequences’ library runs 1.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Truth Or Consequences Public Library serves Truth or Consequences’s 6,052 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 21K visits.
What Truth or Consequences’s library is like
More library cards than residents
15,372 cards for 6,052 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Truth Or Consequences Public Library offered 9 programs last year, 1.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Truth Or Consequences Public Library holds 59,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 0% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. 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 Truth or Consequences’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Truth or Consequences is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #11 of 46 in New Mexico. Truth or Consequences’ count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
40 community nonprofits are registered in Truth or Consequences
6.7 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.0%
7.0% of Truth or Consequences’ 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 Truth or Consequences’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Truth Or Consequences Public Library serves 6,052 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 59K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
9 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Truth or Consequences last year.
2 places to borrow in Truth or Consequences
Truth Or Consequences Public Library, 325 Library Lane, Truth Or Consequence.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Truth or Consequences? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Truth or Consequences
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Truth or Consequences cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $276K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $273K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $276K 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 15,372 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truth or Consequences | Truth Or Consequences Public Library fine-free | 2.7 | 40 | B |
| Williamsburg | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Elephant Butte | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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 Truth or Consequences
Does Truth or Consequences have a public library?
Yes. Truth Or Consequences Public Library, 325 Library Lane, serves Truth or Consequences’ 6,052 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Truth Or Consequences 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 Truth or Consequences’ library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Truth or Consequences’ civic life grade?
B Truth or Consequences is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #11 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 Truth or Consequences.
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.