Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 3.0Denison’s library runs 120 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Denison Public Library serves Denison’s 26,343 residents. Last year it lent 127K books, movies and e-books and logged 71K visits.
What Denison’s library is like
Nine times the programs of a typical library its size
Denison Public Library ran 3,151 programs last year, about 61 a week. That’s 120 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 48,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
97% of the 3,151 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 58 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people Denison Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. 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.
What’s behind Denison’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Denison is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #205 of 539 in Texas. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Denison’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($51K–$84K) 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 →
73 community nonprofits are registered in Denison
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (34 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Denison’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 Denison’s residents live; 2022.
About 59 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 Denison last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Denison Public Library serves 26,343 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
127K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 30K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.4 times last year, on average.
22,391 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Denison Public Library, 300 W Gandy St., Denison.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Denison? 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 $2.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Denison cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 3,063 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denison | Denison Public Library fine-free | 4.8 | 46 | C+ |
| Sherman | Sherman Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 51 | C− |
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 Denison
Does Denison have a public library?
Yes. Denison Public Library, 300 W Gandy St., serves Denison’s 26,343 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Denison Public Library 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 Denison’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Denison’s civic life grade?
C+ Denison 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 Denison.
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.