Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0McCamey’s library logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Upton County Public Library serves 1,459 people in and around McCamey. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 28K visits.
The short version on McCamey’s library
More library cards than residents
1,985 cards for 1,459 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 ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Upton County Public Library logs 19 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 94% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 36% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; Upton County Public Library serves 1,459 people in and around McCamey, 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 McCamey’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, McCamey is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Upton County Public Library logged 19.5 visits per resident in FY2024, #30 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in McCamey
4.8 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.6%
2.6% of McCamey’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 McCamey’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Upton County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Upton County Public Library serves 1,459 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Books and media off the shelf
22K 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.
21 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
Upton County Public Library, 212 W 7th St., Mccamey.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Upton County Public Library branch.
New in McCamey? 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 $3.51 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average McCamey cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $95K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $333K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $95K 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 1,985 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits count everyone. McCamey’s 28,423 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Upton County Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Upton County Public Library serves 1,459 people in and around McCamey, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just McCamey.
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 McCamey
Does McCamey have a public library?
Yes. Upton County Public Library, 212 W 7th St., serves 1,459 people in and around McCamey (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Upton County 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 McCamey’s library?
It logged 19.5 visits and lent 14.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is McCamey’s civic life grade?
B McCamey is ahead of 59% 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 McCamey.
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.