Bulverde’s library runs 41 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Mammen Family Public Library serves Bulverde’s 42,410 residents. Last year it lent 359K books, movies and e-books and logged 168K visits.
The short version on Bulverde’s library
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 65% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 180 items per child in Bulverde last year. Kids & programs ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Mammen Family Public Library ran 1,720 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 41 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 63,000 items on the shelves went out about 5 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 1,720 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 644 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Bulverde’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bulverde is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #92 of 539 in Texas. Bulverde is graded on two of the three inputs. Bulverde’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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Bulverde
4.8 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.5%
7.5% of Bulverde’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 Bulverde’s residents live; 2022.
About 12 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 Bulverde last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mammen Family Public Library serves 42,410 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 117 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
359K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 63K books and other items on the shelves went out about 5 times last year, on average.
46,841 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mammen Family Public Library, 131 Bulverde Crossing Rd, Bulverde.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bulverde? 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 $2.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bulverde cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 15,322 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulverde | Mammen Family Public Library fine-free | 8.5 | 59 | B |
| Spring Branch | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- 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 Bulverde
Does Bulverde have a public library?
Yes. Mammen Family Public Library, 131 Bulverde Crossing Rd, serves Bulverde’s 42,410 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mammen Family 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 Bulverde’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 8.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bulverde’s civic life grade?
B Bulverde is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on civic life, #92 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 Bulverde.
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.