Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Eagle Lake’s library logs 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Eula & David Wintermann Library serves Eagle Lake’s 5,447 residents. Last year it lent 5,590 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,696 visits.
Eagle Lake’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
91% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 9%. What your card is worth ↓
Eula & David Wintermann Library is used less than most libraries its size
Eula & David Wintermann Library records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Eula & David Wintermann Library offered 21 programs last year, 3.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone in Eagle Lake has a card
4,720 cards for 5,447 people, or 87%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Eula & David Wintermann Library holds 29,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Eagle Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Eagle Lake is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #187 of 539 in Texas. Eagle Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. Eagle Lake’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($52K–$87K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Eagle Lake
7.5 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.2%
2.2% of Eagle Lake’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 Eagle Lake’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Eula & David Wintermann Library serves 5,447 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,590 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 29K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
667 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
21 programs a year
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 Eagle Lake last year.
Find it
Eula & David Wintermann Library, 101 N Walnut Ave, Eagle Lake.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Eagle Lake? 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 Eagle Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $173K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $91K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $173K 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 4,720 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Eagle Lake
Does Eagle Lake have a public library?
Yes. Eula & David Wintermann Library, 101 N Walnut Ave, serves Eagle Lake’s 5,447 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eula & David Wintermann 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 Eagle Lake’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 1.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Eagle Lake’s civic life grade?
C+ Eagle Lake is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #187 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 Eagle Lake.
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.