Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 3.0Van Alstyne’s library logs 2.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Van Alstyne Public Library serves Van Alstyne’s 10,127 residents. Last year it lent 36K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
The short version on Van Alstyne’s library
Programs are almost all for children
90% of the 217 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.3 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 70% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 55% of similar-size libraries. 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 Van Alstyne’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Van Alstyne is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #85 of 539 in Texas. Van Alstyne is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Van Alstyne’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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Van Alstyne
3.2 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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.4%
10.4% of Van Alstyne’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 Van Alstyne’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Van Alstyne Public Library serves 10,127 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 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
6,805 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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 Van Alstyne last year.
Find it
Van Alstyne Public Library, 151 W Cooper St., Van Alstyne.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Van Alstyne? 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 $1.82 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Van Alstyne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $320K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $583K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $320K 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 3,363 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 Van Alstyne
Does Van Alstyne have a public library?
Yes. Van Alstyne Public Library, 151 W Cooper St., serves Van Alstyne’s 10,127 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Van Alstyne 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 Van Alstyne’s library?
It logged 2.2 visits and lent 3.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Van Alstyne’s civic life grade?
B Van Alstyne is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on civic life, #85 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 Van Alstyne.
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.