Photo: Charles Henry · CC BY 2.0Friona’s library lends 1.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Friona Public Library serves Friona’s 4,057 residents. Last year it lent 8,252 books, movies and e-books and logged 6,978 visits.
What Friona’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
75% of the 51 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 31 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Friona Public Library holds 35,000 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 Friona’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Friona is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns, #377 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Friona’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($50K–$84K) 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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Friona
3.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: health.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
2.3%
2.3% of Friona’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.7% in the typical Texas 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 Friona’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.
Friona Public Library serves 4,057 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
8,252 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
2,496 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
51 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 Friona last year.
Find it
Friona Public Library, 109 W 7th St., Friona.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Friona? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Friona cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $243K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $139K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $243K 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 2,963 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 Friona
Does Friona have a public library?
Yes. Friona Public Library, 109 W 7th St., serves Friona’s 4,057 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Friona 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 Friona’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Friona’s civic life grade?
D Friona is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns on civic life, #377 of 539 in Texas. 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 Friona.
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.