Sunray’s library is a branch of Killgore Memorial Library, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Sunray’s library is the Britain Memorial Library, a branch of Killgore Memorial Library, which serves 21,190 people and lent 19K items last year.
What Sunray’s library is like
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, the Killgore Memorial Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 12% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Killgore Memorial Library system lends 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 93% 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; Sunray’s library is a branch of Killgore Memorial Library, so they cover the whole system (21,190 people), not just the Sunray branch.
What’s behind Sunray’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Sunray is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Sunray is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Sunray
4.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
22.3%
22.3% of Sunray’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 Sunray’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Killgore Memorial Library serves 21,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Killgore Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
19K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,118 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 kids’ programs 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
Britain Memorial Library, 118 E 5th St., Sunray.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Killgore Memorial Library branch.
New in Sunray? 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 Sunray cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $622K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $330K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $622K 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 2,508 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Britain Memorial Library is one branch of Killgore Memorial Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 21,190 people it serves.
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 Sunray
Does Sunray have a public library?
Yes: Britain Memorial Library, 118 E 5th St., is a branch of Killgore Memorial Library, which serves 21,190 people. The branch is open about 31 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Killgore 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 Sunray’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 0.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Sunray’s civic life grade?
A Sunray is ahead of 92% 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 Sunray.
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.