Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Edna’s library runs 5.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Jackson County Memorial Library serves 15,221 people in and around Edna. Last year it lent 29K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.
The short version on Edna’s library
Programs are almost all for children
92% of the 78 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 13 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Jackson County Memorial Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Jackson County Memorial Library offered 78 programs last year, 5.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. 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 70% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Jackson County Memorial Library spends $14 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Jackson County Memorial Library serves 15,221 people in and around Edna, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Edna’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Edna is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #21 of 539 in Texas. Edna is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Edna’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
53 community nonprofits are registered in Edna
8.8 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 (17 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.3%
8.3% of Edna’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 Edna’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Jackson County Memorial Library serves 15,221 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jackson County Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
29K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
4,880 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Jackson County Memorial Library, 411 N Wells St. Ste 121, Edna.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jackson County Memorial Library branch.
New in Edna? 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 $1.96 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Edna cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $215K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $420K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $215K 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 4,709 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Jackson County Memorial Library serves 15,221 people in and around Edna, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Edna.
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 Edna
Does Edna have a public library?
Yes. Jackson County Memorial Library, 411 N Wells St. Ste 121, serves 15,221 people in and around Edna (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jackson County Memorial 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 Edna’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Edna’s civic life grade?
A Edna is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #21 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 Edna.
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.