Photo: publichall · CC BY-SA 3.0Odessa’s library logs 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Odessa Public Library serves Odessa’s 895 residents. Last year it lent 3,488 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,319 visits.
The short version on Odessa’s library
Odessa Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Odessa Public Library records 1.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $15 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Most of Odessa’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 62% of loans, more per resident than at 80% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 38%. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Odessa Public Library serves 895 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Runs on less money than most
Odessa Public Library spends $15 per resident, less than 95% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Odessa’s civic life grade
Odessa isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
62% of borrowing is digital
3,488 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
2,158 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Odessa Public Library serves 895 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Odessa Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
27 programs a year
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.
Find it
Odessa Public Library, 21 E. First Street, Odessa.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Odessa? 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 $4.17 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Odessa cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $13K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $55K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $13K 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 300 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. 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 Odessa
Does Odessa have a public library?
Yes. Odessa Public Library, 21 E. First Street, serves Odessa’s 895 residents (the survey’s count).
Is Odessa 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 Odessa’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 3.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Odessa’s civic life grade?
Odessa isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Odessa.
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.