Photo: Liveon001 ©Travis Witt · CC BY-SA 3.0Martindale’s library runs 139 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Martindale Community Library serves Martindale’s 1,256 residents. Last year it lent 1,593 books, movies and e-books and logged 2,207 visits.
The short version on Martindale’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
79% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 21%. What your card is worth ↓
Martindale Community Library is used less than most libraries its size
Martindale Community Library records 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Martindale Community Library serves 1,256 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Martindale Community Library keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Martindale’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Martindale is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Martindale’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($58K–$97K) 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Martindale
2.4 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.0%
5.0% of Martindale’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 Martindale’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Martindale Community Library serves 1,256 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,593 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,172 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
227 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. 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, 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 Martindale last year.
Find it
Martindale Community Library, 411 Main St., Martindale.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Martindale? 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 Martindale cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $80K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $80K 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 749 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Martindale
Does Martindale have a public library?
Yes. Martindale Community Library, 411 Main St., serves Martindale’s 1,256 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Martindale Community 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 Martindale’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Martindale’s civic life grade?
D Martindale is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Martindale.
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.