Rosebud’s library lends 6 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
D Brown Memorial Library serves Rosebud’s 1,339 residents. Last year it lent 49K books, movies and e-books and logged 2,798 visits.
The short version on Rosebud’s library
Most of Rosebud’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 84% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 16%. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
D Brown Memorial Library serves 1,339 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Rosebud’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Rosebud is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Rosebud is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put Rosebud near the top nationally; 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Rosebud
16.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
25.9%
25.9% of Rosebud’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 Rosebud’s residents live; 2022.
84% of borrowing is digital
49K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 9,888 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
41,383 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
D Brown Memorial Library serves 1,339 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 38 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
32 programs a year
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 Rosebud last year.
Find it
D Brown Memorial Library, 203 N 2nd St., Rosebud.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Rosebud? 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 $15.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Rosebud cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $49K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $744K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $49K 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 530 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 Rosebud
Does Rosebud have a public library?
Yes. D Brown Memorial Library, 203 N 2nd St., serves Rosebud’s 1,339 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is D Brown Memorial 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 Rosebud’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 36.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Rosebud’s civic life grade?
A+ Rosebud is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Rosebud.
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.