Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Caldwell’s library runs 191 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Harrie P Woodson Memorial Library serves Caldwell’s 4,579 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
What Caldwell’s library is like
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Harrie P Woodson Memorial Library ran 875 programs last year, about 17 a week. That’s 191 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 8,426 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
72% of the 875 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 191 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 61% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 56% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Harrie P Woodson Memorial Library holds 23,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Caldwell’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Caldwell is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #47 of 539 in Texas. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
23 community nonprofits are registered in Caldwell
5.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
10.7%
10.7% of Caldwell’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 Caldwell’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Caldwell last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Harrie P Woodson Memorial Library serves 4,579 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
1,994 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
Find it
Harrie P Woodson Memorial Library, 704 W Hwy 21, Caldwell.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Caldwell? 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 $1.52 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Caldwell cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $172K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $261K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $172K 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 1,493 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Caldwell
Does Caldwell have a public library?
Yes. Harrie P Woodson Memorial Library, 704 W Hwy 21, serves Caldwell’s 4,579 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harrie P Woodson Memorial 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 Caldwell’s library?
It logged 3.2 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Caldwell’s civic life grade?
A− Caldwell is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life, #47 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 Caldwell.
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.