Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Sulphur Springs’ library runs 12 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Sulphur Springs Public Library serves Sulphur Springs’s 16,564 residents. Last year it lent 52K books, movies and e-books and logged 60K visits.
What Sulphur Springs’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
65% of the 200 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 0 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
74% of Sulphur Springs carry a library card
12,221 cards for 16,564 people, or 74%. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
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 Sulphur Springs’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sulphur Springs is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #355 of 539 in Texas. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($47K–$78K) 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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Sulphur Springs
2.1 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 (22 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.8%
3.8% of Sulphur Springs’ 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 Sulphur Springs’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Sulphur Springs Public Library serves 16,564 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
52K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 39K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
11,910 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Sulphur Springs last year.
Find it
Sulphur Springs Public Library, 611 Davis St. N, Sulphur Springs.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Sulphur Springs? 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 Sulphur Springs cardholder borrows.
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 12,221 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: spending. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 Sulphur Springs
Does Sulphur Springs have a public library?
Yes. Sulphur Springs Public Library, 611 Davis St. N, serves Sulphur Springs’ 16,564 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sulphur Springs Public 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 Sulphur Springs’ library?
It logged 3.6 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sulphur Springs’ civic life grade?
C− Sulphur Springs is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #355 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 Sulphur Springs.
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.