Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library System is a city-county public library system based in Albuquerque (Bernalillo County), New Mexico, serving a legal service area of 676,444 residents through 19 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 91 profiled systems in New Mexico, it leads on population served, total visits, physical checkouts and operating spending.
Among the 52 profiled systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents, it ranks fourth for the electronic share of checkouts. Against the median system of its size class, it records 42% fewer paid staff per resident and 41% less operating spending per resident.
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County against the 61 systems of its size class
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County, building by building
The 19 buildings cover 363,224 square feet in total, 0.54 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Main Library at 119,050 square feet; the smallest is Ernie Pyle Library at 1,129. The longest hours, 53.8 a week, are shared by five buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Main Library | Central library | Albuquerque | 45.8 | 119,050 |
| Alamosa/Robert L. Murphy Memorial Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 37.4 | 5,046 |
| Central & Unser-Patrick J. Baca Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 53.8 | 25,305 |
| Cherry Hills Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 53.8 | 14,885 |
| East Mountain Library | Branch | Tijeras | 38.9 | 14,756 |
| Erna Fergusson Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 53.8 | 15,227 |
| Ernie Pyle Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 38.8 | 1,129 |
| International District Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 53.8 | 24,919 |
| Juan Tabo Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 39 | 14,456 |
| Lomas Tramway Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 39 | 13,560 |
| Los Griegos Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 38.8 | 13,560 |
| North Valley Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 39 | 14,395 |
| San Pedro Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 39 | 7,260 |
| South Broadway/Frances Parrish Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 38.7 | 9,906 |
| South Valley Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 38.8 | 15,087 |
| Special Collections Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 35.9 | 22,442 |
| Taylor Ranch Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 53.8 | 13,252 |
| Tony Hillerman Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 39 | 16,214 |
| Westgate Library | Branch | Albuquerque | 37.1 | 2,775 |
| Book Van | Bookmobile | Albuquerque | – |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,636,303
- Physical checkouts
- 2,017,221
- …of children's materials
- 870,675
- Electronic checkouts
- 2,358,170
- …of e-books
- 625,768
- …of e-audio
- 1,436,471
- Registered users
- 321,868
- Program sessions
- 8,777
- Program attendance
- 148,047
- Print volumes
- 740,767
- Audio items (physical)
- 34,561
- Video items (physical)
- 83,439
- Public computers
- 410
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 42,342
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 162.0
- Operating spending
- $19 million
- …on books and other materials
- $2.1 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Albuquerque/Bernalillo County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $23.1 million, or $34.17 per resident. The local-government share sits 11 percentage points above the combined share for the 91 profiled systems in New Mexico. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County since FY 2019
Visits were 28% below the FY 2019 count of 2.3 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 37% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Albuquerque/Bernalillo County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 59% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 17 people each.
City-county libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Nashville Public Library in Tennessee.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pima County Public Library | Tucson, AZ | 1,086,634 | 2.34 | 1.57 | $41.62 |
| Memphis Public Library and Information Center | Memphis, TN | 791,686 | 1.15 | 0.80 | $29.16 |
| Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library | Stockton, CA | 724,916 | 0.90 | 1.32 | $21.24 |
| Nashville Public Library | Nashville, TN | 712,334 | 3.87 | 4.64 | $75.07 |
| Lake County Library System | Tavares, FL | 432,796 | 2.50 | 3.25 | $25.02 |
| New Orleans Public Library | New Orleans, LA | 362,701 | 3.02 | 2.89 | $65.01 |
Nearest in size within New Mexico
- Thomas Branigan Memorial Library · Las Cruces · 111,385 residents
- Rio Rancho Public Library · Rio Rancho · 104,046 residents
- Santa Fe Public Library · Santa Fe · 87,505 residents
- Roswell Public Library · Roswell · 48,422 residents