Los Fresnos’ library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library serves Los Fresnos’s 11,421 residents. Last year it lent 8,052 books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
Los Fresnos’s library, in brief
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library ran 857 programs last year, about 16 a week. That’s 75 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 23,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library holds 24,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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 Los Fresnos’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Los Fresnos has fewer per resident than most U.S. towns. Los Fresnos is graded on two of the three inputs. Los Fresnos’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the U.S. middle.
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library spends $19 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($46K–$77K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Los Fresnos
1.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.7%
2.7% of Los Fresnos’ 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 Los Fresnos’ residents live; 2022.
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 Los Fresnos last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library serves 11,421 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
8,052 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
1,665 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library, 402 W Ocean Blvd, Los Fresnos.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Los Fresnos? 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 $1.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Los Fresnos cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $220K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $395K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $220K 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 4,910 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville | Brownsville Public Library | 1.3 | 65 | D− |
| Los Fresnos | Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library | 0.7 | 38 | D− |
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 Los Fresnos
Does Los Fresnos have a public library?
Yes. Ethel L Whipple Memorial Library, 402 W Ocean Blvd, serves Los Fresnos’ 11,421 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ethel L Whipple Memorial 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 Los Fresnos’ library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Los Fresnos’ civic life grade?
D− Los Fresnos has fewer community nonprofits per resident, and fewer younger adults in volunteering groups, than most U.S. towns. 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 Los Fresnos.
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.