Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Eldorado’s library logs 2.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Schleicher County Public Library serves 2,391 people in and around Eldorado. Last year it lent 5,772 print books and media and logged 5,459 visits.
Eldorado’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
94% of the 94 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 47 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 54% 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; Schleicher County Public Library serves 2,391 people in and around Eldorado, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Eldorado’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Eldorado is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns. Eldorado is graded on two of the three inputs. Eldorado’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Eldorado
9.2 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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of Eldorado’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 Eldorado’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Schleicher County Public Library serves 2,391 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Schleicher County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,772 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card.
About 2 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
Schleicher County Public Library, 201 SW Main St., Eldorado.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Schleicher County Public Library branch.
New in Eldorado? 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 $1.06 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Eldorado cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $99K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $105K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $99K 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 318 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Schleicher County Public Library serves 2,391 people in and around Eldorado, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Eldorado.
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 Eldorado
Does Eldorado have a public library?
Yes. Schleicher County Public Library, 201 SW Main St., serves 2,391 people in and around Eldorado (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Schleicher County 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 Eldorado’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 2.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Eldorado’s civic life grade?
B− Eldorado is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Eldorado.
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.