Bishop’s library is a branch of Nueces County Public Libraries, which lends less per resident than 69% of systems its size
Bishop’s library is the Bishop Branch Library, a branch of Nueces County Public Libraries, which serves 32,230 people and lent 237K items last year.
Bishop’s library, in brief
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 69% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 31%. What people borrow ↓
Open only about 16 hours a week
The Bishop branch keeps short hours: about 16 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Bishop’s library is a branch of Nueces County Public Libraries, so they cover the whole system (32,230 people), not just the Bishop branch.
What’s behind Bishop’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bishop is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #389 of 539 in Texas. Bishop is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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 →
5 community nonprofits are registered in Bishop
1.6 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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.4%
6.4% of Bishop’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 Bishop’s residents live; 2022.
69% of borrowing is digital
237K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
163,787 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Nueces County Public Libraries serves 32,230 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 47 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Nueces County Public Libraries system. The library’s own count.
About 6 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.
Find it
Bishop Branch Library, 115 S Ash Ave, Bishop.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Nueces County Public Libraries branch.
New in Bishop? 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 $9.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bishop cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $992K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $8.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $992K 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 9,904 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Bishop Branch Library is one branch of Nueces County Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 32,230 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 Bishop
Does Bishop have a public library?
Yes: Bishop Branch Library, 115 S Ash Ave, is a branch of Nueces County Public Libraries, which serves 32,230 people. The branch is open about 16 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Nueces County Public Libraries 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 Bishop’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 7.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bishop’s civic life grade?
D Bishop is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #389 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 Bishop.
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.