Tularosa Original Townsite District · Photo: AllenS · Public domainTularosa’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Tularosa Public Library serves Tularosa’s 2,553 residents. Last year it lent 35K books, movies and e-books and logged 3,640 visits.
The short version on Tularosa’s library
More library cards than residents
4,836 cards for 2,553 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 ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 79%. People come in, pick up their books and go. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Tularosa Public Library offered 24 programs last year, 9.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
New Mexico pays a big share
25% of the budget comes from the state, and 75% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
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 Tularosa’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Tularosa is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #21 of 46 in New Mexico. Tularosa’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Tularosa
6.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (5 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.
5.7%
5.7% of Tularosa’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 Tularosa’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
35K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
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.
Tularosa Public Library serves 2,553 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
24 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 Tularosa last year.
Find it
Tularosa Public Library, 515 Fresno St., Tularosa.
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 $9.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tularosa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $62K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $591K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $62K 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 4,836 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Tularosa Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Tularosa
Does Tularosa have a public library?
Yes. Tularosa Public Library, 515 Fresno St., serves Tularosa’s 2,553 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tularosa Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Tularosa’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 13.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Tularosa’s civic life grade?
C Tularosa is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #21 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 Tularosa.
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.