Photo: Nsaum75 · CC BY-SA 3.0Danbury’s library is a branch of Brazoria County Library System, which lends more per resident than 57% of systems its size
Danbury’s library is the Danbury Library, a branch of Brazoria County Library System, which serves 398,938 people and lent 1.7M items last year.
The short version on Danbury’s library
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 2,209 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 26 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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 64% of similar-size libraries. 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; Danbury’s library is a branch of Brazoria County Library System, so they cover the whole system (398,938 people), not just the Danbury branch.
What’s behind Danbury’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Danbury is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns. Danbury is graded on two of the three inputs. Danbury’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Danbury
8.8 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Danbury’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 Danbury’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Brazoria County Library System serves 398,938 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 55 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brazoria County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1.7M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
266,478 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 30 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, 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
Danbury Library, 1702 N Main St., Danbury.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Brazoria County Library System branch.
New in Danbury? 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 $2.71 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Danbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $9.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $25M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $9.3M 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 166,818 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Danbury Library is one branch of Brazoria County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 398,938 people it serves.
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 Danbury
Does Danbury have a public library?
Yes: Danbury Library, 1702 N Main St., is a branch of Brazoria County Library System, which serves 398,938 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brazoria County Library System 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 Danbury’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Danbury’s civic life grade?
A− Danbury is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Danbury.
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.