A.K. Wilson Building · Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 4.0Dallas’ library lends 7.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Dallas Public Library serves Dallas’s 23,933 residents. Last year it lent 177K print books and media and logged 77K visits.
What stands out about Dallas’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Dallas’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dallas is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #66 of 106 in Oregon. Dallas is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Dallas’ count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
84 community nonprofits are registered in Dallas
4.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (29 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Dallas’ Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.9% in the typical Oregon 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 Dallas’ residents live; 2022.
Books and media off the shelf
177K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 72K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.5 times last year, on average.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Dallas Public Library serves 23,933 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 92 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Dallas last year.
Find it
Dallas Public Library, 950 Main St., Dallas.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Dallas? The Handbook →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 $3.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dallas cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $675K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $675K 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 6,705 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’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 Dallas
Does Dallas have a public library?
Yes. Dallas Public Library, 950 Main St., serves Dallas’ 23,933 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dallas Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dallas’ library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 7.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Dallas’ civic life grade?
B+ Dallas is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on civic life, #66 of 106 in Oregon. 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 Dallas.
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.