Photo: Adavyd · CC BY-SA 4.0Coldspring’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Coldspring Area Public Library Inc serves Coldspring’s 866 residents. Last year it lent 5,215 print books and media and logged 8,721 visits.
Coldspring’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,686 cards for 866 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 32%. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
90% of the 69 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 47 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Coldspring Area Public Library Inc serves 866 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 41 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
People come to Coldspring Area Public Library Inc a lot
Coldspring Area Public Library Inc logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 90% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Coldspring’s civic life grade
Coldspring isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Coldspring Area Public Library Inc serves 866 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
5,215 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Coldspring last year.
Find it
Coldspring Area Public Library Inc, 14221 Hwy 150 W, Coldspring.
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 $1.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Coldspring cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $74K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $88K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $74K 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 3,686 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Coldspring
Does Coldspring have a public library?
Yes. Coldspring Area Public Library Inc, 14221 Hwy 150 W, serves Coldspring’s 866 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coldspring Area Public Library Inc 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 Coldspring’s library?
It logged 10.1 visits and lent 6.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Coldspring’s civic life grade?
Coldspring isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Coldspring.
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.