Photo: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas · CC BY 2.0Sour Lake’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Alma M Carpenter Public Library serves Sour Lake’s 3,475 residents. Last year it lent 3,941 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,630 visits.
The short version on Sour Lake’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Alma M Carpenter Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 72% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 72% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. What people borrow ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Alma M Carpenter Public Library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, fewer than 88% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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 Sour Lake’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sour Lake is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns. Sour Lake is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Sour Lake’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
8 community nonprofits are registered in Sour Lake
3.7 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
18.8%
18.8% of Sour Lake’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 Sour Lake’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Alma M Carpenter Public Library serves 3,475 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
3,941 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
37 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 Sour Lake last year.
Find it
Alma M Carpenter Public Library, 300 S Ann St., Sour Lake.
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 Sour Lake cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $76K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $57K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $76K 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 917 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 Sour Lake
Does Sour Lake have a public library?
Yes. Alma M Carpenter Public Library, 300 S Ann St., serves Sour Lake’s 3,475 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Alma M Carpenter Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Sour Lake’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 1.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sour Lake’s civic life grade?
A− Sour Lake is ahead of 84% 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 Sour Lake.
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.