Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Kingsville’s library lends 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Robert J Kleberg Public Library serves 30,412 people in and around Kingsville. Last year it lent 17K print books and media and logged 24K visits.
Kingsville’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
38,204 cards for 30,412 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Robert J Kleberg Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Robert J Kleberg Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $23 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
66% of the 304 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 84 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Robert J Kleberg Public Library serves 30,412 people in and around Kingsville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Kingsville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Kingsville is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns, #373 of 539 in Texas. Kingsville’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Robert J Kleberg Public Library spends $23 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($44K–$73K) 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 →
101 community nonprofits are registered in Kingsville
4.0 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 (28 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.3%
4.3% of Kingsville’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 Kingsville’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Robert J Kleberg Public Library serves 30,412 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Robert J Kleberg Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
17K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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
Robert J Kleberg Public Library, 220 N 4th St., Kingsville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Robert J Kleberg Public Library branch.
New in Kingsville? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kingsville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $687K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $363K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $687K 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 38,204 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. Robert J Kleberg Public Library serves 30,412 people in and around Kingsville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Kingsville.
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 Kingsville
Does Kingsville have a public library?
Yes. Robert J Kleberg Public Library, 220 N 4th St., serves 30,412 people in and around Kingsville (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Robert J Kleberg 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 Kingsville’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 0.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Kingsville’s civic life grade?
D Kingsville is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on civic life, #373 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 Kingsville.
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.