Meadowbrook Stock Farm · Photo: Belgian1908 · CC BY-SA 4.0Hobson’s library is a branch of Judith Basin County Free Library, which lends more per resident than 59% of systems its size
Hobson’s library is the Hobson Community Library, a branch of Judith Basin County Free Library, which serves 2,023 people and lent 12K items last year.
What stands out about Hobson Community Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Hobson’s civic life grade
Hobson 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Judith Basin County Free Library serves 2,023 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Judith Basin County Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,967 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
About 1 kids’ program 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
Hobson Community Library, 210 Central, Hobson.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Judith Basin County Free Library branch.
New in Hobson? 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 $1.49 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hobson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $132K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $197K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $132K 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 972 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hobson Community Library is one branch of Judith Basin County Free Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 2,023 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 Hobson
Does Hobson have a public library?
Yes: Hobson Community Library, 210 Central, is a branch of Judith Basin County Free Library, which serves 2,023 people. The branch is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Judith Basin County Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hobson’s library?
It logged 3.3 visits and lent 6.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Hobson’s civic life grade?
Hobson 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 Hobson.
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.