Photo: NativeTexan55 · CC BY-SA 4.0Belton’s library logs 3.1 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Lena Armstrong Public Library serves Belton’s 25,171 residents. Last year it lent 89K print books and media and logged 78K visits.
What Belton’s library is like
Programs are almost all for children
98% of the 102 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.7 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Lena Armstrong Public Library offered 102 programs last year, 4.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Carnegie Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Today’s library there has 5,659 square feet. The building ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 65% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 63% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
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 Belton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Belton is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #150 of 539 in Texas. Belton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
145 community nonprofits are registered in Belton
6.0 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 (56 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.7%
5.7% of Belton’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 Belton’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1985
Lena Armstrong Public Library, 301 E 1st Ave, Belton.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Belton? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Carnegie Public Library
Carnegie Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Mar 4, 1985. It is significant for its education and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Beaux-Arts.
More about the building →Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lena Armstrong Public Library serves 25,171 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
89K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.2 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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 Belton last year.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.57 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Belton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $484K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $484K 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 8,048 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temple | Temple Public Library | 4.5 | 60 | D |
| Belton | Lena Armstrong Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 42 | B− |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Belton
Does Belton have a public library?
Yes. Lena Armstrong Public Library, 301 E 1st Ave, serves Belton’s 25,171 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lena Armstrong Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Belton’s library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Belton’s civic life grade?
B− Belton is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on civic life, #150 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 Belton.
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.