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BlueRidge1Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 3.0
Libraries near Blue Ridge

Blue Ridge has no public library of its own; the nearest is Charles J Rike Memorial Library in Farmersville, 9.8 miles away

Blue Ridge doesn’t have a public library of its own. The closest is Charles J Rike Memorial Library in Farmersville, 9.8 miles away. Many small-town libraries give cards to neighbors, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.

B−Civic lifeAhead of 48% of U.S. towns. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (972) 782-6681All nearby libraries
Civic life grade

What’s behind Blue Ridge’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Blue Ridge is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns. Blue Ridge is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Blue Ridge’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

B−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Blue Ridge’s overall grade.
–Library visitsNo public library of its own, so there is no town figureCCommunity nonprofits2.8 per 1,000 residents · TX towns 3.3 · U.S. 3.7B+Volunteering9.0% of adults 25–44 · TX towns 5.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 48%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $58K–$97K (9,215)Ahead of 46%

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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Blue Ridge is small (1,265 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

3 community nonprofits are registered in Blue Ridge

2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture00.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.72 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans00.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services10.91 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education00.45 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17

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.

Volunteering

9.0%

9.0% of Blue Ridge’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 Blue Ridge’s residents live; 2022.

Nearest libraries

The closest is 9.8 miles away

Closest first, measured from the center of Blue Ridge. Each one’s hours, and whether it charges late fines.

9.8miCharles J Rike Memorial LibraryFarmersville · 38 hrs a weekDirections →9.9miLois Nelson Public LibraryPrinceton · 47 hrs a weekDirections →10miMelissa Public LibraryMelissa · 40 hrs a week · fine-freeDirections →10.4miLeonard Public LibraryLeonard · 28 hrs a weekDirections →
Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

Anna: no library of its ownFarmersville: 3.1 loans per residentAnnaFarmersvilleBlue Ridge
12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
FarmersvilleCharles J Rike Memorial Library3.138C−
AnnaNone of its own——C+

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Blue Ridge

Does Blue Ridge have a public library?

No. The closest is Charles J Rike Memorial Library in Farmersville, 9.8 miles from the town center. Many libraries give cards to people from neighboring towns, sometimes for a yearly fee, so call ahead.

What is Blue Ridge’s civic life grade?

B− Blue Ridge is ahead of 48% 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 Blue Ridge.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.