Photo: Cohee · CC BY 3.0Houston’s library is a branch of Dixie Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Houston’s library is the Houston Carnegie Library, a branch of Dixie Regional Library System, which serves 61,086 people and lent 52K items last year.
What Houston’s library is like
The Dixie Regional Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Dixie Regional Library System records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
The branch is a National Register landmark
Houston Carnegie Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978. Today’s library there has 3,824 square feet. The building ↓
Federal money pays a real share
1% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 76% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
The Dixie Regional Library System spends $11 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 554 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 5.5 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Houston’s library is a branch of Dixie Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (61,086 people), not just the Houston branch.
What’s behind Houston’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Houston is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns, #73 of 85 in Mississippi. Houston is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Houston’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Dixie Regional Library System spends $11 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($33K–$55K) 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Houston
2.1 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.5%
3.5% of Houston’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical Mississippi 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 Houston’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1978
Houston Carnegie Library, 105 West Madison, Houston.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dixie Regional Library System branch.
New in Houston? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Houston Carnegie Library
Houston Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec 22, 1978. It is significant for its education and architecture at the state level. Its architecture is described as Prairie and Stick Style.
The Houston Carnegie Library, at Madison and Huddleston Sts. in Houston, Mississippi, is a Carnegie library that was built in 1909. It was the first Carnegie library built in Mississippi and was just the second public library in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Dixie Regional Library System serves 61,086 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dixie Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
52K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,649 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 kids’ programs a week
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 $1.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Houston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $674K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $948K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $674K 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 24,971 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Houston Carnegie Library is one branch of Dixie Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 61,086 people it serves.
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 Houston
Does Houston have a public library?
Yes: Houston Carnegie Library, 105 West Madison, is a branch of Dixie Regional Library System, which serves 61,086 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dixie Regional Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Houston’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Houston’s civic life grade?
D− Houston is ahead of 4% of U.S. towns on civic life, #73 of 85 in Mississippi. 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 Houston.
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; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.