Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Madisonville’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Madison County Library serves 11,545 people in and around Madisonville. Last year it lent 15K print books and media and logged 9,663 visits.
Madisonville’s library, in brief
Madison County Library is used less than most libraries its size
Madison County Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Madison County Library offered 56 programs last year, 4.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 62% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 74% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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; Madison County Library serves 11,545 people in and around Madisonville, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Madisonville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Madisonville is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns, #35 of 539 in Texas. Madisonville is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Madisonville’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Madisonville
6.2 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 (12 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.3%
8.3% of Madisonville’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 Madisonville’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Madison County Library serves 11,545 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Madison County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
15K 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.
56 programs a year
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
Madison County Library, 605 S May St., Madisonville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Madison County Library branch.
New in Madisonville? 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 Madisonville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $368K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $219K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $368K 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 920 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. Madison County Library serves 11,545 people in and around Madisonville, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Madisonville.
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 Madisonville
Does Madisonville have a public library?
Yes. Madison County Library, 605 S May St., serves 11,545 people in and around Madisonville (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Madison County 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 Madisonville’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Madisonville’s civic life grade?
A− Madisonville is ahead of 81% of U.S. towns on civic life, #35 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 Madisonville.
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.