Photo: Treasa at English Wikipedia · Public domainHobart’s library runs 3.9 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Hobart Public Library serves Hobart’s 3,358 residents. Last year it lent 16K books, movies and e-books and logged 6,654 visits.
The short version on Hobart’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Hobart Public Library offered 13 programs last year, 3.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Hobart Public Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Today’s library there has 6,400 square feet. The building ↓
Nearly everyone in Hobart has a card
2,948 cards for 3,358 people, or 88%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Hobart Public Library holds 31,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Hobart’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hobart is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #45 of 128 in Oklahoma. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Hobart
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.5%
12.5% of Hobart’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 Hobart’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.
Hobart Public Library serves 3,358 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
16K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 31K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
6,171 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
13 programs a year
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 Hobart last year.
A National Register landmark since 1980
Hobart Public Library, 200 S Main, Hobart.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hobart? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Hobart Public Library
Hobart Public Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct 31, 1980. It is significant for its education and social history at the local level.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.16 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hobart cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $114K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $247K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $114K 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 2,948 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 Hobart
Does Hobart have a public library?
Yes. Hobart Public Library, 200 S Main, serves Hobart’s 3,358 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hobart 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 Hobart’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 4.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hobart’s civic life grade?
B+ Hobart is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #45 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 Hobart.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.