Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Smithville’s library is a branch of Lee County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 51% of systems its size
Smithville’s library is the Smithville Library, a branch of Lee County Public Library, which serves 34,332 people and lent 153K items last year.
The short version on Smithville’s library
Open only about 15 hours a week
The Smithville branch keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 331 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 60% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 60% 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; Smithville’s library is a branch of Lee County Public Library, so they cover the whole system (34,332 people), not just the Smithville branch.
What’s behind Smithville’s civic life grade
Smithville 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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Lee County Public Library serves 34,332 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lee County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
153K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
28,977 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
Smithville Library, 116 Main Street, Smithville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Lee County Public Library branch.
New in Smithville? 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 $2.19 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Smithville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 13,428 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Smithville Library is one branch of Lee County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 34,332 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 Smithville
Does Smithville have a public library?
Yes: Smithville Library, 116 Main Street, is a branch of Lee County Public Library, which serves 34,332 people. The branch is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Lee County Public 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 Smithville’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 4.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Smithville’s civic life grade?
Smithville 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 Smithville.
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.