Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Denver City’s library runs 111 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library serves 4,546 people in and around Denver City. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
The short version on Denver City’s library
More library cards than residents
6,047 cards for 4,546 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 75% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 28%. The building also logs about 17 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 99% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library ran 504 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 111 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 16,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 55% 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; Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library serves 4,546 people in and around Denver City, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Denver City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Denver City is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns, #309 of 539 in Texas. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Denver City
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
1.8%
1.8% of Denver City’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 Denver City’s residents live; 2022.
About 6 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library serves 4,546 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,536 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library, 205 W 4th St., Denver City.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library branch.
New in Denver City? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Denver City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $349K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $346K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $349K 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 6,047 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library serves 4,546 people in and around Denver City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Denver City.
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 Denver City
Does Denver City have a public library?
Yes. Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley Library, 205 W 4th St., serves 4,546 people in and around Denver City (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Yoakum County/Cecil Bickley 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 Denver City’s library?
It logged 5.1 visits and lent 2.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Denver City’s civic life grade?
C− Denver City is ahead of 21% of U.S. towns on civic life, #309 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 Denver City.
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.