Photo: C jacobson3 · CC BY-SA 4.0Roanoke’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Roanoke Public Library serves Roanoke’s 10,796 residents. Last year it lent 163K books, movies and e-books and logged 121K visits.
The short version on Roanoke’s library
Roanoke has the most-used library in Texas
Out of 181 Texas towns with a library of their own, Roanoke comes first for visits per resident. It’s also #3 for borrowing and #4 for kids’ borrowing. How it compares ↓
More library cards than residents
12,544 cards for 10,796 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Roanoke uses its library more than almost any town its size
Roanoke Public Library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 97% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 59% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 35 items per child in Roanoke last year. Kids & programs ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Roanoke Public Library ran 683 programs last year, about 13 a week. That’s 63 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 11,000 attended. 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 Roanoke’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Roanoke is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #93 of 539 in Texas. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in Roanoke
3.3 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of Roanoke’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 Roanoke’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 60 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Roanoke Public Library serves 10,796 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
163K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.8 times last year, on average.
9,120 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 Roanoke last year.
Find it
Roanoke Public Library, 308 S Walnut St., Roanoke.
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 Roanoke? 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 $2.59 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Roanoke cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $955K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $955K 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 12,544 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke | Roanoke Public Library fine-free | 15.1 | 52 | B |
| Flower Mound | Flower Mound Public Library fine-free | 5.6 | 61 | B |
| Westlake | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Fort Worth | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Northlake | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Trophy Club | None of its own | — | — | C |
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 Roanoke
Does Roanoke have a public library?
Yes. Roanoke Public Library, 308 S Walnut St., serves Roanoke’s 10,796 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Roanoke 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 Roanoke’s library?
It logged 11.2 visits and lent 15.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Roanoke’s civic life grade?
B Roanoke is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on civic life, #93 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 Roanoke.
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.