Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Sterling City’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Sterling County Public Library serves 1,397 people in and around Sterling City. Last year it lent 1,626 print books and media and logged 3,329 visits.
Sterling City’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
86% of the 70 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
1,426 cards for 1,397 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 ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Sterling County Public Library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 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; Sterling County Public Library serves 1,397 people in and around Sterling City, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Sterling City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sterling City is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns. Sterling City’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Sterling City
5.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.2%
8.2% of Sterling City’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 Sterling City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Sterling County Public Library serves 1,397 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Sterling County Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sterling County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,626 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Sterling County Public Library, 301 Main, Sterling City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Sterling County Public Library branch.
New in Sterling City? 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 Sterling City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $47K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $36K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $47K 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 1,426 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.
- System-wide. Sterling County Public Library serves 1,397 people in and around Sterling City, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sterling City.
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 Sterling City
Does Sterling City have a public library?
Yes. Sterling County Public Library, 301 Main, serves 1,397 people in and around Sterling City (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sterling County 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 Sterling City’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sterling City’s civic life grade?
B Sterling City is ahead of 60% 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 Sterling City.
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.