Photo: Aggie0083 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0College Station’s library runs 4.2 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Bryan+college Station Public Library System serves 214,807 people in and around College Station. Last year it lent 749K books, movies and e-books and logged 326K visits.
The short version on College Station’s library
Bryan+college Station Public Library System serves more than College Station
The library’s service area covers 214,807 people in and around College Station, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 58% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Bryan+college Station Public Library System spends $14 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $36). 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.
What’s behind College Station’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, College Station is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #349 of 539 in Texas. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #237. College Station is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Bryan+college Station Public Library System spends $14 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($38K–$64K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
273 community nonprofits are registered in College Station
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (59 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 15 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of College Station’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 College Station’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Bryan+college Station Public Library System serves 214,807 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 71 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
749K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 183K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.5 times last year, on average.
99,110 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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.
Find it
Larry J Ringer Public Library, 1818 Harvey Mitchell Pkwy S, College Station.
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 College Station? 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 $3.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average College Station cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 61,366 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| College Station | Larry J Ringer Public Library fine-free | 3.5 | 61 | C− |
| Bryan | Bryan+college Station Public Library System fine-free | 3.5 | 54 | D |
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 College Station
Does College Station have a public library?
Yes. Bryan+college Station Public Library System, 1818 Harvey Mitchell Pkwy S, serves 214,807 people in and around College Station (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bryan+college Station Public Library System 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 College Station’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 3.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is College Station’s civic life grade?
C− College Station is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #349 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 College Station.
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.