Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0Buda’s library lends 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Mason Memorial Library District serves Buda’s 1,417 residents. Last year it lent 941 print books and media and logged 1,688 visits.
The short version on Buda’s library
Mason Memorial Library District is used less than most libraries its size
Mason Memorial Library District records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Mason Memorial Library District serves 1,417 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Buda’s civic life grade
Buda isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Mason Memorial Library District serves 1,417 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Mason Memorial Library District
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
941 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Buda’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
33 programs a year
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.
Find it
Mason Memorial Library District, 104 West Main Street, Buda.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Buda cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $52K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $52K 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 506 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Buda
Does Buda have a public library?
Yes. Mason Memorial Library District, 104 West Main Street, serves Buda’s 1,417 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mason Memorial Library District fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Buda’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Buda’s civic life grade?
Buda isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Buda.
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.