Natalia’s library runs 7.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Natalia Veterans Memorial Library serves Natalia’s 1,336 residents. Last year it drew 50 people to its programs.
The short version on Natalia’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
93% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 7%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Natalia Veterans Memorial Library serves 1,336 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 25 hours a week. 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 ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Natalia Veterans Memorial Library offered 10 programs last year, 7.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Natalia Veterans Memorial Library spends $15 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Natalia’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Natalia is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Natalia is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Natalia’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
The survey’s stand-in for Natalia’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
Natalia Veterans Memorial Library spends $15 per resident, against a typical $54 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($34K–$57K) 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 Natalia
2.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.1%
5.1% of Natalia’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 Natalia’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 4 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Natalia Veterans Memorial Library serves 1,336 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Natalia Veterans Memorial Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Loans aren’t shown: this year’s report counted only 226 items borrowed, so we leave the count out.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
10 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.
Find it
Natalia Veterans Memorial Library, 501 Third St., Natalia.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Natalia? 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 Natalia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $20K.
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 765 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Natalia Veterans Memorial Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- Loans left out. This year’s loan count is far below the library’s visits and shelves, so we leave it out.
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 Natalia
Does Natalia have a public library?
Yes. Natalia Veterans Memorial Library, 501 Third St., serves Natalia’s 1,336 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 25 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Natalia Veterans Memorial 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 Natalia’s library?
It lent 0.0 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 10 programs that drew 50 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Natalia’s civic life grade?
D Natalia is ahead of 13% 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 Natalia.
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.