Princeton’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Lois Nelson Public Library serves Princeton’s 32,639 residents. Last year it lent 27K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
The short version on Princeton’s library
Lois Nelson Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Lois Nelson Public Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $12 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
86% of the 147 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 74% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 83% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
Runs on less money than most
Lois Nelson Public Library spends $12 per resident, less than 93% of similar-size libraries (typical: $40). 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.
What’s behind Princeton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Princeton is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #379 of 539 in Texas. Princeton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Princeton’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Lois Nelson Public Library spends $12 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($79K–$132K) 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 →
70 community nonprofits are registered in Princeton
2.8 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 (26 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 7 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.0%
5.0% of Princeton’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 Princeton’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lois Nelson Public Library serves 32,639 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
27K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
3,545 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Princeton last year.
Find it
Lois Nelson Public Library, 323 Mckinney Ave, Princeton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Princeton? 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 $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Princeton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $382K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $439K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $382K 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 9,624 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | Lois Nelson Public Library | 0.8 | 47 | D |
| Lowry Crossing | None of its own | — | — | D |
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 Princeton
Does Princeton have a public library?
Yes. Lois Nelson Public Library, 323 Mckinney Ave, serves Princeton’s 32,639 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lois Nelson 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 Princeton’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 0.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Princeton’s civic life grade?
D Princeton is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #379 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 Princeton.
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.