Elsa’s library logs 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Elsa Public Library serves Elsa’s 8,511 residents. Last year it lent 19K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,294 visits.
The short version on Elsa’s library
Elsa Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Elsa Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. How it compares ↓
Most of Elsa’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 70% of loans, more per resident than at 66% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 30%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Elsa Public Library offered 46 programs last year, 5.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Elsa Public Library holds 23,000 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 Elsa’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Elsa has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Elsa is graded on two of the three inputs. Elsa’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($32K–$53K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Elsa
1.6 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 (3 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.
1.3%
1.3% of Elsa’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 Elsa’s residents live; 2022.
70% of borrowing is digital
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 23K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
13,143 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
Elsa Public Library serves 8,511 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
46 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 Elsa last year.
Find it
Elsa Public Library, 711 N Hidalgo St., Elsa.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Elsa? 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 $1.01 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Elsa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $278K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $279K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $278K 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 3,411 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 Elsa
Does Elsa have a public library?
Yes. Elsa Public Library, 711 N Hidalgo St., serves Elsa’s 8,511 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elsa 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 Elsa’s library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 2.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Elsa’s civic life grade?
D− Elsa has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Elsa.
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.