Photo: Doc Searls from Santa Barbara, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Thedford’s library runs 731 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Thomas County Library serves 677 people in and around Thedford. Last year it lent 8,544 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,389 visits.
What Thedford’s library is like
More library cards than residents
875 cards for 677 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 495 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 4 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
12 times the programs of a typical library its size
Thomas County Library ran 495 programs last year, about 10 a week. That’s 731 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 83% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 74%. People come in, pick up their books and go, or skip the trip: 31% of loans are digital. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 62% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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; Thomas County Library serves 677 people in and around Thedford, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Thedford’s civic life grade
Thedford 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 →
About 10 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Thomas County Library serves 677 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Thomas County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
8,544 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
2,654 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Thomas County Library, 501 Main Street, Thedford.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Thomas County Library branch.
New in Thedford? 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 $2.34 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Thedford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $57K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $133K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $57K 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 875 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Thomas County Library serves 677 people in and around Thedford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Thedford.
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 Thedford
Does Thedford have a public library?
Yes. Thomas County Library, 501 Main Street, serves 677 people in and around Thedford (the survey’s count) and is open about 26 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Thomas County 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 Thedford’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 12.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Thedford’s civic life grade?
Thedford 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 Thedford.
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.