Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Leakey’s library logs 6.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Real County Public Library Leakey serves 1,462 people in and around Leakey. Last year it lent 6,199 books, movies and e-books and logged 9,325 visits.
Leakey’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
3,885 cards for 1,462 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
85% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 15%. What your card is worth ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 77% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 27%. The building also logs about 11 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 88% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans, more per resident than at 74% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Real County Public Library Leakey serves 1,462 people in and around Leakey, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Leakey’s civic life grade
Leakey isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Real County Public Library Leakey serves 1,462 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Real County Public Library Leakey system. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
6,199 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,988 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Real County Public Library Leakey, 225 Main St., Leakey.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Real County Public Library Leakey branch.
New in Leakey? 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 $1.99 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Leakey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $69K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $137K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $69K 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 3,885 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Real County Public Library Leakey serves 1,462 people in and around Leakey, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Leakey.
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 Leakey
Does Leakey have a public library?
Yes. Real County Public Library Leakey, 225 Main St., serves 1,462 people in and around Leakey (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Real County Public Library Leakey 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 Leakey’s library?
It logged 6.4 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Leakey’s civic life grade?
Leakey isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Leakey.
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.