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Downtown Cotulla2 (1 of 1)Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Alexander Memorial Library

Cotulla’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size

Alexander Memorial Library serves 6,537 people in and around Cotulla. Last year it lent 3,572 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,050 visits.

201 Center St., Cotulla 78014 · about 28 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 36% of U.S. towns · #205 of 539 in Texas. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (830) 879-2601 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
3,572
0.5 per resident
Visits a year
3,050
0.5 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
10
about 1 a week · 19 attended
Cardholders
41%
2,671 cards
Open
28 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Cotulla’s library

Alexander Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size

Alexander Memorial Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $23 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Alexander Memorial Library offered 10 programs last year, 1.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Alexander Memorial Library serves 6,537 people in and around Cotulla, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Cotulla’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Cotulla is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #205 of 539 in Texas. Cotulla is graded on two of the three inputs. Cotulla’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Cotulla’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureA−Community nonprofits6.6 per 1,000 residents · TX towns 3.3 · U.S. 3.7D−Volunteering2.4% of adults 25–44 · TX towns 5.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 36%
FewerMore
Texas towns we grade (539)Ahead of 62%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $53K–$88K (9,016)Ahead of 34%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$88K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Cotulla is small (3,583 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

24 community nonprofits are registered in Cotulla

6.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation41.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans41.09 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services30.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education30.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.27 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals20.55 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other61.64 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.

Volunteering

2.4%

2.4% of Cotulla’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 Cotulla’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 0.5 visits · typical 3Bottom 10%
Borrowing per resident 0.5 print items · typical 3.8Bottom 10%
Digital borrowing 0 e-items · typical 1Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 0.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Bottom 10%
Program attendance 0 attendees · typical 0.5Bottom 10%
Programs offered 1.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Bottom 10%
Cardholders 41% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 51%
Spending $23 per resident · typical $43Lower than 80%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Alexander Memorial Library serves 6,537 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Alexander Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.

3,050
visits
0.5 per resident
3,572
loans, print + digital
0.5 per resident
10
programs & events
19 attended
2,671
library cards
41% of people served
Every open hour1items borrowed
Every week0people at a program
Every week59visits
3 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

3,572 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

3,572loans
Books & media (adults) 84%Kids’ books & media 15%E-books, audio & streaming 1%
From your couch

36 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

10 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Cotulla →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–55
Ages 6–115
Teens0
Adults0
All ages0
Little ones
0.1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

526
kids’ books & media borrowed
19
people at programs
10
programs
The building

Find it

Alexander Memorial Library, 201 Center St., Cotulla.

Directions(830) 879-2601
28
hours open a week
5,600
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Alexander Memorial Library branch.

New in Cotulla? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cotulla cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$23 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $152K.

Local taxes 95%Gifts & other 5%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $58K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $152K 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 2,671 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Alexander Memorial Library serves 6,537 people in and around Cotulla, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Cotulla.

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 Cotulla

Does Cotulla have a public library?

Yes. Alexander Memorial Library, 201 Center St., serves 6,537 people in and around Cotulla (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Alexander 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 Cotulla’s library?

It logged 0.5 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 Cotulla’s civic life grade?

C+ Cotulla is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on civic life, #205 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 Cotulla.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.