Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 3.0Tonopah’s library runs 8.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Tonopah Library District serves 2,722 people in and around Tonopah. Last year it lent 7,145 books, movies and e-books and logged 4,460 visits.
The short version on Tonopah’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Tonopah Library District sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Tonapah Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today’s library there has 2,100 square feet. The building ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Tonopah Library District offered 24 programs last year, 8.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
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; Tonopah Library District serves 2,722 people in and around Tonopah, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Tonopah’s civic life grade
Tonopah 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 Tonopah Library District, 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 Tonopah
Tonopah is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.9%
6.9% of Tonopah’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Nevada 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 Tonopah’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1982
Tonopah Library District, 167 S Central St., Tonopah.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Tonapah Public Library
Tonapah Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 1982. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the state level. Its architecture is described as L-Shape. It was listed as part of Tonopah MRA.
The Tonopah Public Library in Tonopah, Nevada was the third public library in Nevada.The one story stone building was designed by John J. Hill and was completed in 1906. The library was established by local residents Grace R. Moore and Marjorie Moore Brown to house a gift of 200 books from George F. Weeks.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Tonopah Library District serves 2,722 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Tonopah Library District system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
7,145 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Tonopah’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
24 programs a year
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.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Tonopah cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $100K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $130K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $100K 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 625 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Tonopah Library District serves 2,722 people in and around Tonopah, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Tonopah.
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 Tonopah
Does Tonopah have a public library?
Yes. Tonopah Library District, 167 S Central St., serves 2,722 people in and around Tonopah (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Tonopah Library District fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Tonopah’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Tonopah’s civic life grade?
Tonopah 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 Tonopah Library District, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Tonopah.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.