Photo: Jouaienttoi · CC BY-SA 4.0San Antonio’s library runs 5.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
San Antonio Public Library serves San Antonio’s 1,868,052 residents from 29 locations. Last year it lent 9.5M books, movies and e-books and logged 2.7M visits.
The short version on San Antonio’s library
29 places to borrow in San Antonio
San Antonio Public Library runs 29 locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans, more per resident than at 72% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 53%, much of it kids’ books. 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 San Antonio’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, San Antonio is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns, #440 of 539 in Texas. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #327. San Antonio is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; San Antonio’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$81K) 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 →
3,536 community nonprofits are registered in San Antonio
2.4 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 (1,181 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 167 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.1%
4.1% of San Antonio’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 San Antonio’s residents live; 2022.
47% of borrowing is digital
9.5M loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 1.5M books and other items on the shelves went out about 3.3 times last year, on average.
4,510,619 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 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
San Antonio Public Library serves 1,868,052 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 125 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 94 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 San Antonio last year.
34 places to borrow in San Antonio
San Antonio Public Library, 600 Soledad St., San Antonio.
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 San Antonio? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in San Antonio
And 21 more in San Antonio.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.77 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average San Antonio cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $53M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $147M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $53M 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 603,193 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
San Antonio borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio | San Antonio Public Library fine-free | 5.1 | 46 | D |
| Windcrest | Pruitt Branch Library fine-free | 5.1 | 47 | D− |
| Converse | Converse Public Library | 1.3 | 42 | D |
| Schertz | Schertz Public Library | — | 59 | C |
| Timberwood Park | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Kirby | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Helotes | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Live Oak | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Cross Mountain | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Fair Oaks Ranch | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Selma | 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 San Antonio
Does San Antonio have a public library?
Yes. San Antonio Public Library, 600 Soledad St., serves San Antonio’s 1,868,052 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is San Antonio 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 San Antonio’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is San Antonio’s civic life grade?
D San Antonio is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on civic life, #440 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 San Antonio.
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.