Mathis’ library runs 64 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Mathis Public Library serves Mathis’s 5,918 residents. Last year it lent 1,567 print books and media and logged 5,621 visits.
Mathis’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
9,550 cards for 5,918 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Mathis Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Mathis Public Library records 0.9 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $8 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
29,000 people came to the library’s 377 programs last year: 4.8 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
31% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 69%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Mathis Public Library spends $8 per resident, less than 97% 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 Mathis’ civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Mathis is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns, #393 of 539 in Texas. Mathis is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Mathis Public Library spends $8 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($26K–$44K) 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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Mathis
2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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.
5.6%
5.6% of Mathis’ 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 Mathis’ residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Mathis last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Mathis Public Library serves 5,918 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
1,567 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Mathis Public Library, 103 Lamar St., Mathis.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Mathis? 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 $6.32 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mathis cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $49K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $311K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $49K 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 9,550 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.
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 Mathis
Does Mathis have a public library?
Yes. Mathis Public Library, 103 Lamar St., serves Mathis’ 5,918 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mathis Public 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 Mathis’ library?
It logged 0.9 visits and lent 0.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Mathis’ civic life grade?
D Mathis is ahead of 11% of U.S. towns on civic life, #393 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 Mathis.
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.