Photo: Wkstormwater · CC BY-SA 4.0Universal City’s library lends 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Universal City Public Library serves Universal City’s 20,028 residents. Last year it lent 36K print books and media and logged 51K visits.
What stands out about Universal City’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Universal City’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Universal City is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #302 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Universal City’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Universal City Public Library spends $22 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$94K) 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 →
68 community nonprofits are registered in Universal City
3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (30 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.3%
5.3% of Universal 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 Universal City’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Universal City Public Library serves 20,028 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
36K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 times last year, on average.
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
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Universal City last year.
Find it
Universal City Public Library, 100 Northview Dr, Universal City.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Universal City? 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 $1.29 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Universal City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $434K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $560K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $434K 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 7,348 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universal City | Universal City Public Library fine-free | 1.8 | 40 | C− |
| Converse | Converse Public Library | 1.3 | 42 | D |
| Schertz | Schertz Public Library | — | 59 | C |
| Selma | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Live Oak | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Randolph AFB | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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 Universal City
Does Universal City have a public library?
Yes. Universal City Public Library, 100 Northview Dr, serves Universal City’s 20,028 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Universal City 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 Universal City’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Universal City’s civic life grade?
C− Universal City is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on civic life, #302 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 Universal 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.