Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Billy Hathorn assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0Alvord’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Alvord Public Library serves 5,955 people in and around Alvord. Last year it lent 2,076 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,188 visits.
Alvord’s library, in brief
Alvord Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Alvord Public Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 59 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 40 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 66% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 93% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Alvord Public Library offered 59 programs last year, 9.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Alvord Public Library serves more than Alvord
The library’s service area covers 5,955 people in and around Alvord, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Alvord’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Alvord is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. Alvord is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Alvord’s 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Alvord
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.7%
7.7% of Alvord’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas 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 Alvord’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Alvord Public Library serves 5,955 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
2,076 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
337 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Alvord Public Library, 109 N Wickham St., Alvord.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Alvord? The Handbook →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 Alvord cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $51K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $51K 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 2,602 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Alvord
Does Alvord have a public library?
Yes. Alvord Public Library, 109 N Wickham St., serves 5,955 people in and around Alvord (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alvord Public Library 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 Alvord’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Alvord’s civic life grade?
B− Alvord is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Alvord.
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.