Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Anson’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Anson Public Library serves Anson’s 2,302 residents. Last year it lent 991 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,844 visits.
Anson’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,867 cards for 2,302 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Anson Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Anson Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $11 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Anson Public Library serves 2,302 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 27 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 ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
35% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 65%. What your card is worth ↓
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 Anson’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Anson is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #321 of 539 in Texas. Anson’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Anson Public Library spends $11 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$60K) 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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Anson
5.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.3%
4.3% of Anson’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 Anson’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Anson Public Library serves 2,302 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Anson Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
991 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
18 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Anson last year.
Find it
Anson Public Library, 1137 12th St., Anson.
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 Anson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $25K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $17K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $25K 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 3,867 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 Anson
Does Anson have a public library?
Yes. Anson Public Library, 1137 12th St., serves Anson’s 2,302 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Anson Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Anson’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Anson’s civic life grade?
C− Anson is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #321 of 539 in Texas. 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 Anson.
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.