Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Eagle Pass’ library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Eagle Pass Public Library serves 28,282 people in and around Eagle Pass. Last year it lent 17K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.
The short version on Eagle Pass’s library
Eagle Pass Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Eagle Pass Public Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 63% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 90% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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; Eagle Pass Public Library serves 28,282 people in and around Eagle Pass, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Eagle Pass’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Eagle Pass is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns, #474 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$72K) 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 →
37 community nonprofits are registered in Eagle Pass
1.3 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.1%
4.1% of Eagle Pass’ 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 Pass’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Eagle Pass Public Library serves 28,282 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Eagle Pass Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
17K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,713 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Eagle Pass Public Library, 589 E Main St., Eagle Pass.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Eagle Pass Public Library branch.
New in Eagle Pass? 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 Pass cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $811K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $437K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $811K 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 9,461 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Pass | Eagle Pass Public Library | — | 41 | D− |
| Eidson Road | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Seco Mines | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Fabrica | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Chula Vista | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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.
- System-wide. Eagle Pass Public Library serves 28,282 people in and around Eagle Pass, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Eagle Pass.
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 Pass
Does Eagle Pass have a public library?
Yes. Eagle Pass Public Library, 589 E Main St., serves 28,282 people in and around Eagle Pass (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eagle Pass Public 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 Pass’ library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Eagle Pass’ civic life grade?
D− Eagle Pass is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life, #474 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 Pass.
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.