Pottsboro’s library runs 86 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Pottsboro Area Public Library serves 4,150 people in and around Pottsboro. Last year it lent 5,587 books, movies and e-books and logged 12K visits.
The short version on Pottsboro’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 32%. What your card is worth ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Pottsboro Area Public Library lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 92% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Pottsboro Area Public Library serves more than Pottsboro
The library’s service area covers 4,150 people in and around Pottsboro, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
72% of the 356 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 84 were for children. 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.
What’s behind Pottsboro’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pottsboro is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #61 of 539 in Texas. Pottsboro is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Pottsboro
4.0 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.
9.5%
9.5% of Pottsboro’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 Pottsboro’s residents live; 2022.
About 2 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Pottsboro Area Public Library serves 4,150 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
5,587 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 5,156 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.
2,125 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Pottsboro Area Public Library, 104 N Main St., Pottsboro.
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 Pottsboro? 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 $1.23 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pottsboro cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $119K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $147K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $119K 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 2,493 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 Pottsboro
Does Pottsboro have a public library?
Yes. Pottsboro Area Public Library, 104 N Main St., serves 4,150 people in and around Pottsboro (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pottsboro Area 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 Pottsboro’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Pottsboro’s civic life grade?
B+ Pottsboro is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #61 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 Pottsboro.
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.