Photo: Nsaum75 · CC BY-SA 3.0Galveston’s library logs 3.6 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Rosenberg Library serves Galveston’s 60,897 residents. Last year it lent 279K books, movies and e-books and logged 218K visits.
The short version on Galveston’s library
The library is a National Register landmark
Rosenberg Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984. Today’s library there has 75,000 square feet. The building ↓
Most of Galveston’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 51% of loans, more per resident than at 78% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 49%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Galveston invests in its library
Rosenberg Library spends $90 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (91%) comes from local taxes. 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.
What’s behind Galveston’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Galveston is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #79 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Galveston’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 →
280 community nonprofits are registered in Galveston
5.2 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 (67 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.1%
8.1% of Galveston’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 Galveston’s residents live; 2022.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Galveston cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.5M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 26,428 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Rosenberg Library serves 60,897 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 91 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
51% of borrowing is digital
279K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 99K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
140,935 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 kids’ programs a week
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 Galveston last year.
A National Register landmark since 1984
Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy St., Galveston.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Galveston? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Rosenberg Library
Rosenberg Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 14, 1984. It is significant for its town planning and architecture at the local level. Its architecture is described as Second Renaissance Revival. It was listed as part of Central Business District MRA.
Rosenberg Library, a public library located in Galveston, Texas, United States, is the oldest continuously operating library in Texas. It serves as headquarters of the Galveston County Library System, and its Executive Director is also the Galveston County Librarian.
More about the building →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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galveston | Rosenberg Library fine-free | 4.6 | 60 | B+ |
| Texas City | Moore Memorial Public Library fine-free | 1.5 | 56 | D− |
| Tiki Island | None of its own | — | — | C |
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.
- 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 Galveston
Does Galveston have a public library?
Yes. Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy St., serves Galveston’s 60,897 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rosenberg Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Galveston’s library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Galveston’s civic life grade?
B+ Galveston is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on civic life, #79 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 Galveston.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.