Photo: Lothar1976 · CC BY-SA 3.0Muenster’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Muenster Public Library serves Muenster’s 3,267 residents. Last year it lent 15K books, movies and e-books and logged 4,120 visits.
The short version on Muenster’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
58% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 42%. What your card is worth ↓
Most programs are for young children
71% of the 51 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 31 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Muenster Public 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 Muenster’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Muenster is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. Muenster is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Muenster’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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Muenster
14.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.9%
9.9% of Muenster’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 Muenster’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Muenster Public Library serves 3,267 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
15K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
3,000 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
51 programs a year
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 Muenster last year.
Find it
Muenster Public Library, 418 N Elm St., Muenster.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Muenster? 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 $3.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Muenster cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $66K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $234K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $66K 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 2,412 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 Muenster
Does Muenster have a public library?
Yes. Muenster Public Library, 418 N Elm St., serves Muenster’s 3,267 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Muenster 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 Muenster’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 4.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Muenster’s civic life grade?
A+ Muenster is ahead of 96% 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 Muenster.
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.