Rock Mary · Photo: CarlandLinda at English Wikipedia · Public domainHinton’s library runs 44 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hinton Norman Smith Memorial Library serves Hinton’s 4,907 residents. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
What’s behind Hinton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hinton is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns, #122 of 128 in Oklahoma. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($49K–$82K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Hinton
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.2%
4.2% of Hinton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 9.7% in the typical Oklahoma town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Hinton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Hinton Norman Smith Memorial Library serves 4,907 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
3,035 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Hinton last year.
Find it
Hinton Norman Smith Memorial Library, 406 N Broadway St., Hinton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hinton? 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 $1.91 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $172K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $327K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $172K 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 1,762 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Hinton
Does Hinton have a public library?
Yes. Hinton Norman Smith Memorial Library, 406 N Broadway St., serves Hinton’s 4,907 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hinton Norman Smith Memorial 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 Hinton’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hinton’s civic life grade?
D Hinton is ahead of 14% of U.S. towns on civic life, #122 of 128 in Oklahoma. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Hinton.
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.