Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0San Saba’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Rylander Memorial Library serves 5,845 people in and around San Saba. Last year it lent 11K books, movies and e-books and drew 183 people to its programs.
San Saba’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Rylander Memorial Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Rylander Memorial Library offered 10 programs last year, 1.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. 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; Rylander Memorial Library serves 5,845 people in and around San Saba, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind San Saba’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, San Saba is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #142 of 539 in Texas. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so San Saba is graded on two of the three inputs. San Saba’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
The survey’s stand-in for San Saba’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
36 community nonprofits are registered in San Saba
11.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.0%
3.0% of San Saba’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 Saba’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Rylander Memorial Library serves 5,845 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Rylander Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
11K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,991 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Rylander Memorial Library, 103 S Live Oak St., San Saba.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Rylander Memorial Library branch.
New in San Saba? 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 $1.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average San Saba cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $162K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 1,466 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Rylander Memorial Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- System-wide. Rylander Memorial Library serves 5,845 people in and around San Saba, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just San Saba.
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 Saba
Does San Saba have a public library?
Yes. Rylander Memorial Library, 103 S Live Oak St., serves 5,845 people in and around San Saba (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Rylander 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 San Saba’s library?
It lent 1.8 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 10 programs that drew 183 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is San Saba’s civic life grade?
B− San Saba is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on civic life, #142 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 Saba.
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.