Red Oak’s library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Red Oak Public Library serves Red Oak’s 18,624 residents. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
Red Oak’s library, in brief
Red Oak Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Red Oak Public Library records 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $20 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 58% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 76% 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 Red Oak’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Red Oak is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #407 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Red Oak’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Red Oak Public Library spends $20 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($78K–$131K) 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 →
59 community nonprofits are registered in Red Oak
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 (21 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.6%
4.6% of Red Oak’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 Red Oak’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Red Oak Public Library serves 18,624 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.2 times last year, on average.
7,554 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 Red Oak last year.
Find it
Red Oak Public Library, 101 S Live Oak St., Red Oak.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Red Oak? 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 $1.56 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Red Oak cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $369K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $577K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $369K 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 4,278 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Red Oak ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waxahachie | Nicholas P Sims Library & Lyceum | 3.8 | 39 | C |
| Ferris | Ferris Public Library | 3.3 | 32 | D |
| Red Oak | Red Oak Public Library fine-free | 1.7 | 38 | D |
| Lancaster | Lancaster Veterans Memorial Library | 0.7 | 38 | D |
| Glenn Heights | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Oak Leaf | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Pecan Hill | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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 Red Oak
Does Red Oak have a public library?
Yes. Red Oak Public Library, 101 S Live Oak St., serves Red Oak’s 18,624 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Red Oak 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 Red Oak’s library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Red Oak’s civic life grade?
D Red Oak is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #407 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 Red Oak.
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.