Summersville’s library is a branch of Texas County Library, which lends less per resident than 94% of systems its size
Summersville’s library is the Summersville Branch, a branch of Texas County Library, which serves 24,487 people and lent 36K items last year.
Summersville’s library, in brief
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 408 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.8 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, the Texas County Library system sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. 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; Summersville’s library is a branch of Texas County Library, so they cover the whole system (24,487 people), not just the Summersville branch.
What’s behind Summersville’s civic life grade
Summersville 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 →
47% of borrowing is digital
36K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
17,033 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Texas County Library serves 24,487 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Texas County Library system. The library’s own count.
About 8 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
Summersville Branch, 480 First St., Summersville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Texas County Library branch.
New in Summersville? 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 $1.73 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Summersville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $370K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $639K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $370K 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 7,439 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Summersville Branch is one branch of Texas County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 24,487 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 Summersville
Does Summersville have a public library?
Yes: Summersville Branch, 480 First St., is a branch of Texas County Library, which serves 24,487 people. The branch is open about 39 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Texas County 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 Summersville’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Summersville’s civic life grade?
Summersville 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 Summersville.
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.