Texas Almanac, 1990-1991 Page: 470
611 p. : col. ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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470 TEXAS ALMANAC 1990-1991
Public Libraries
The following information on Texas public libraries was furnished by Dick Getz of the Library Development Divi-
sion, Texas State Library, Austin.
Texas public libraries continue to improve in their nance 10 cooperative public library systems, which un-
efforts to meet the educational, informational and rec- dertook various projects to develop and improve public
reational needs of the state's citizens. Perhaps no other library services. A breakdown of public library funding
public-supported institution directly serves as many for 1987 follows:
Texans, young and old, as does the public library. The Source Amount Percent
latest statistics, for 1987, reported to the Texas State Li- Cities..................................... 5104,148,040 69.9
brary by 457 public libraries across Texas bear out this Counties........................................ 24,783,431 16.6
fact. They show: School districts ....................................273,843 .2
* A total of 14,786,039 Texans were served by public State ........................................... 4,263,754 2.9
libraries, or 88 percent of the state's population. Federal......................................... 5,056,364 3.4
* A total of 60,293,710 library materials were checked Other (Private, etc.) ......................... 10,377,865 7.0
out to Texans, a figure equivalent to approximately 4.08 Total.............................................$148,903,297 100.0
for every person in the state. These materials include There is considerable data that suggest that this lev-
books, records, cassettes, magazines, 16mm films, vid- el of support is inadequate to meet the needs of Texas
eocassettes and art prints, citizens for public library services. Out of the 457 librar-
* A total of 14,131,796 reference questions were asked ies reporting for 1987 to the Texas State Library, 32
by library users, both in person and over the telephone. failed to meet the minimum standards for adequacy of
b libra use ,15 budget, staff, book collection and hours of operation set
h A total of 3,307,165 persons attended programs at by the state. Statistics for these 32 libraries show that
the library, including "story hour" programs and sum- the typical library in this category serves just over 12,-
mer reading club programs for children, as well as cul- 000 population, has a per capita budget from local tax
tural, entertainment and educational programs for sources of less than one-half of the state average, and is
adults. administered by one person working part- time.
* Audiences totaling 7,816,534 persons viewed films Clearly, much remains to be done, particularly in
and videocassettes provided by the library, less populated areas of the state, to bring library ser-
The growth in services to library users has continued vices up to adequate standards. Sixteen counties are
over the past five years. From 1982 to 1987, circulation without a public library. Libraries in urban areas face a
of library materials increased by 25 percent, the num- different, but no less critical, problem of coping with
ber of reference questions handled by libary reference rapid population growth and consequent demands for
staffs increased by 62 percent, and the number of per- services by new residents. As the major Texas cities
sons viewing videotapes and films provided by the li- grow in size and population, there is a need for new li-
brary increased by 39 percent. brary facilities in outlying suburban areas, along with
new library collections and staff to provide services at
All of these services were provided by public librar- these facilities. The following table lists all 457 public li-
ies in 1987 with very modest support from tax sources. braries in Texas by city, along with statistics on two of
Total city, county, and school district tax support of the most important services provided to Texas citizens:
public libraries amounted to only $8.74 per capita, less circulation of library materials (books as well as audio-
than one-half the price of a hardback book. The State of visual and other materials), and reference questions
Texas expended approximately 35 cents per capita to fi- asked at the library, as well as over the telephone.Library, County
C
Abernathy,Hale...............
Abilene, Taylor ...............
Alamo, Hidalgo ...............
Albany, Shackelford............
Alice, Jim W ells ...............
Allen, Collin ..................
Alpine, Brewster ..............
Alvord, Wise .................
Amarillo, Potter ...............
Anahuac, Chambers............
Andrews, Andrews .............
Angleton, Brazoria .............
Anna, Collin..................
Anson, Jones .................
Aransas Pass, San Patricio .......
Archer City, Archer ............
Arlington, Tarrant .............
Aspermont, Stonewall ..........
Athens, Henderson.............
Atlanta, Cass.................
Aubrey, Denton...............
Austin, Travis ................
Austin/Westbank, Travis ........
Azle, Tarrant .................
Baird, Callahan ...............
Balch Springs, Dallas ...........
Ballinger, Runnels .............
Bandera, Bandera .............
Barksdale, Edwards............
Bartlett, Bell .................
Bastrop, Bastrop ..............
Bay City, Matagorda ...........
Baytown, Harris ...............
Beaumont, Jefferson ...........
Beaumont/JCL, Jefferson .......
Bedford, Tarrant ..............
Beeville, Bee .................
Bellaire, Harris ...............
Beleville, Austin ...............
Belton, Bell ..................Number
Volumes Inquiries
irculated Handled
7,471 458
393,666 187,671
64,045 2,965
0 0
201,567 21,976
65,709 4,000
52,156 2,639
2,505 3
1,086,980 548,490
123,145 4,698
46,955 2,416
922,997 44,109
525 0
3,911 295
29,215 1,669
8,400 304
1,055,902 844,686
16,356 453
90,252 0
11,715 0
1,200 250
2,479,735 383,177
39,719 1,320
44,111 0
5,828 65
44,651 84
18,120 0
36,097 1,469
8,092 84
8,389 1,200
61,638 2,861
37,936 0
762,272 27,911
342,606 65,356
94,000 3,500
283,214 0
58,944 4,176
137,303 7,514
44,482 1,610
40,471 3,799Library, County
C
Big Lake, Reagan..............
Big Spring, Howard ............
Boerne, Kendall ...............
Bonham, Fannin ..............
Booker, Lipscomb .............
Borger, Hutchinson ............
Bowie, Montague..............
Boyd, W ise...................
Brackettville, Kinney...........
Brady, McCulloch .............
Breckenridge, Stephens .........
Brenham, Washington ..........
Bridgeport, W ise ..............
Brownfield, Terry .............
Brownsville, Cameron ..........
Brownwood, Brown ............
Bryan, Brazos ................
Buda, Hays ..................
Buffalo, Leon.................
Bullard, Sm ith ................
Buna,Jasper.................
Burkburnett, Wichita ...........
Burleson, Johnson .............
Burnet, Burnet................
Caldwell, Burleson .............
Cameron, Milam ..............
Canadian, Hemphill ............
Canton, Van Zandt .............
Canyon, Randall ..............
Canyon Lake, Comal ...........
Carrizo Springs, Dimmit.........
Carrollton, Dallas..............
Carthage, Panola..............
Castroville, Medina ............
Cedar Hill, Dallas..............
Cedar Park, Williamson .........
Center, Shelby................
Centerville, Leon ..............
Charlotte, Atascosa ............
Chico, Wise ..................Number
Volumes Inquiries
irculated Handled
19,776 900
108,095 10,920
67,685 3,701
59,355 3,120
11,899 0
100,420 3,049
67,285 0
4,129 10
13,500 297
40,820 1,200
13,649 3,425
90,510 0
58,295 3,689
72,343 3,953
86,055 12,326
97,189 0
368,025 28,816
10,191 0
1,800 8
3,261 172
18,934 138
41,243 5,363
97,653 0
145,864 21,400
16,913 780
0 0
51,213 2,979
54,119 1,560
29,512 229
23,479 205
25,483 625
403,507 32,148
46,788 6,206
23,751 2,895
49,761 360
25,840 2,444
14,552 1,840
1,378 10
3,049 0
3,376 150
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Kingston, Mike. Texas Almanac, 1990-1991, book, 1989; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162512/m1/472/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.