Photo: Renegomezphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0Sabinal’s library runs 104 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Sabinal Public Library serves Sabinal’s 1,826 residents. Last year it lent 884 print books and media and logged 6,411 visits.
Sabinal’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
1,824 cards for 1,826 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Sabinal Public Library serves 1,826 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 40 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 ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Sabinal Public Library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, fewer than 97% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
67% of the 190 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 36 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Sabinal Public Library spends $16 per resident, less than 94% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Sabinal’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sabinal is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. Sabinal is graded on two of the three inputs. Sabinal’s count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Sabinal
11.3 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.2%
3.2% of Sabinal’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 Sabinal’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sabinal Public Library serves 1,826 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Sabinal Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
884 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
190 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 Sabinal last year.
Find it
Sabinal Public Library, 305 N Center St., Sabinal.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sabinal? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sabinal cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $29K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $29K 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 1,824 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Sabinal
Does Sabinal have a public library?
Yes. Sabinal Public Library, 305 N Center St., serves Sabinal’s 1,826 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sabinal 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 Sabinal’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 0.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sabinal’s civic life grade?
B− Sabinal is ahead of 49% 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 Sabinal.
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.