Sonterra’s library runs 104 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center serves Sonterra’s 3,980 residents. Last year it lent 22K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
What Sonterra’s library is like
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
93% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 7%. What your card is worth ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center ran 412 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 104 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
59% of the 412 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 149 were for children. 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 Sonterra’s civic life grade
Sonterra isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024.
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 →
Volunteering in Sonterra
Sonterra is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
4.0%
4.0% of Sonterra’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 Sonterra’s residents live; 2022.
About 3 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 Sonterra last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center serves 3,980 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
22K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 9,337 books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center, 113 Limestone Terrace Suite 500, Jarrell.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sonterra? 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 $2.85 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sonterra cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $132K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $375K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $132K 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 2,459 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sonterra | Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center | 5.6 | 31 | — unincorporated |
| Jarrell | 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.
- 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 Sonterra
Does Sonterra have a public library?
Yes. Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center, 113 Limestone Terrace Suite 500, serves Sonterra’s 3,980 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jarrell Community Library and Resource Center 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 Sonterra’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 5.6 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sonterra’s civic life grade?
Sonterra isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Sonterra.
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.