La Feria’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library serves La Feria’s 9,230 residents. Last year it logged 4,344 visits.
The short version on La Feria’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library offered 50 programs last year, 5.4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library spends $15 per resident, less than 90% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). 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 La Feria’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, La Feria is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #423 of 539 in Texas. La Feria is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; La Feria’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library spends $15 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$56K) 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in La Feria
2.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.6%
2.6% of La Feria’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 La Feria’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library serves 9,230 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 1,682 items borrowed against 4,344 visits, so we leave the count out.
50 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.
Find it
Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library, 400 S Main St., La Feria.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in La Feria? 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 La Feria cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $142K.
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 5,307 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Feria | Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library fine-free | — | 43 | D |
| La Feria North | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Solis | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bixby | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Bluetown | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 La Feria
Does La Feria have a public library?
Yes. Bailey H Dunlap Memorial Library, 400 S Main St., serves La Feria’s 9,230 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bailey H Dunlap Memorial 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 La Feria’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is La Feria’s civic life grade?
D La Feria is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #423 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 La Feria.
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.