Photo: Billy Hathorn at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0New Braunfels’ library runs 29 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
New Braunfels Public Library serves New Braunfels’s 110,958 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 772K books, movies and e-books and logged 287K visits.
The short version on New Braunfels’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
New Braunfels Public Library ran 3,227 programs last year, about 62 a week. That’s 29 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9. People show up: 79,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 117,000 items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average. What people borrow ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The main library is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. Every hour the doors are open, about 105 items go out. The buildings ↓
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 New Braunfels’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, New Braunfels is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #217 of 539 in Texas. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #150. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($65K–$108K) 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 →
338 community nonprofits are registered in New Braunfels
3.2 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 (91 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.3%
7.3% of New Braunfels’ 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 New Braunfels’ residents live; 2022.
About 26 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 New Braunfels last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
New Braunfels Public Library serves 110,958 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 105 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
772K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 117K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4.1 times last year, on average.
287,019 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in New Braunfels
New Braunfels Public Library, 700 E Common St., New Braunfels.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in New Braunfels? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in New Braunfels
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $4.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Braunfels cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $13M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.1M 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 22,831 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Braunfels | New Braunfels Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 65 | C |
| Schertz | Schertz Public Library | — | 59 | C |
| Lake Dunlap | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 New Braunfels
Does New Braunfels have a public library?
Yes. New Braunfels Public Library, 700 E Common St., serves New Braunfels’ 110,958 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New Braunfels Public 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 New Braunfels’ library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is New Braunfels’ civic life grade?
C New Braunfels is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on civic life, #217 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 New Braunfels.
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.