Buna’s library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Buna Public Library serves 9,072 people in and around Buna. Last year it lent 4,707 books, movies and e-books and logged 19K visits.
The short version on Buna’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
82% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 18%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Buna Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Buna Public Library offered 24 programs last year, 2.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Buna Public Library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 96% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Buna Public Library spends $10 per resident, less than 96% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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; Buna Public Library serves 9,072 people in and around Buna, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Buna’s civic life grade
Buna isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Buna Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Buna
Buna is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
16.6%
16.6% of Buna’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 Buna’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Buna Public Library serves 9,072 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Buna Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
4,707 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
439 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
24 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Buna Public Library, 1042 Hwy 62 S, Buna.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Buna Public Library branch.
New in Buna? The Handbook →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 Buna cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $89K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $75K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $89K 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 2,581 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Buna Public Library serves 9,072 people in and around Buna, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Buna.
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 Buna
Does Buna have a public library?
Yes. Buna Public Library, 1042 Hwy 62 S, serves 9,072 people in and around Buna (the survey’s count) and is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Buna Public Library 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 Buna’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Buna’s civic life grade?
Buna isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Buna Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Buna.
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.