Groves’ library runs 5.1 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Groves Public Library serves Groves’s 16,764 residents. Last year it lent 56K books, movies and e-books and logged 22K visits.
The short version on Groves’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Groves Public Library offered 86 programs last year, 5.1 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
79% of the 86 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 50 for ages 0–5. 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 higher than at 52% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 88% of similar-size libraries. 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 Groves’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Groves is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #213 of 539 in Texas. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$92K) 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 →
31 community nonprofits are registered in Groves
1.8 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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
17.8%
17.8% of Groves’ 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 Groves’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Groves Public Library serves 16,764 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 23 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
56K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
4,254 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Groves last year.
Find it
Groves Public Library, 5600 W Washington St., Groves.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Groves? 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 $2.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Groves cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $366K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $814K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $366K 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 10,480 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Groves ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Neches | Effie & Wilton Hebert Public Library | 3.6 | 57 | A− |
| Groves | Groves Public Library | 3.3 | 49 | C |
| Port Arthur | Port Arthur Public Library | 0.3 | 55 | 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 Groves
Does Groves have a public library?
Yes. Groves Public Library, 5600 W Washington St., serves Groves’ 16,764 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Groves 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 Groves’ library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 3.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Groves’ civic life grade?
C Groves is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #213 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 Groves.
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.