Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Ponder’s library runs 45 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Betty Foster Public Library serves 2,757 people in and around Ponder. Last year it lent 4,721 print books and media and logged 5,508 visits.
The short version on Ponder’s library
Nearly everyone in Ponder has a card
2,572 cards for 2,757 people, or 93%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 70% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 62% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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 Ponder’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ponder is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns, #292 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Ponder’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Betty Foster Public Library spends $24 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($80K–$133K) 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Ponder
3.4 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.3%
6.3% of Ponder’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 Ponder’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Betty Foster Public Library serves 2,757 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
4,721 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 10K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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.
Find it
Betty Foster Public Library, 405 Shaffner St., Ponder.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ponder? 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 $1.30 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ponder cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $65K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $85K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $65K 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 2,572 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 Ponder
Does Ponder have a public library?
Yes. Betty Foster Public Library, 405 Shaffner St., serves 2,757 people in and around Ponder (the survey’s count) and is open about 27 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Betty Foster 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 Ponder’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 1.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Ponder’s civic life grade?
C− Ponder is ahead of 23% of U.S. towns on civic life, #292 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 Ponder.
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.