Photo: Barbara Brannon · CC BY 2.0Fritch’s library is a branch of Hutchinson County Library, which lends less per resident than 92% of systems its size
Fritch’s library is the Hutchinson County Library - Fritch, a branch of Hutchinson County Library, which serves 20,033 people and lent 80K items last year.
The short version on Fritch’s library
Most of the system’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 78% of loans, more per resident than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 22%. What people borrow ↓
Programs are almost all for children
100% of the 134 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
The Hutchinson County Library system lends 0.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, fewer than 92% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Fritch’s library is a branch of Hutchinson County Library, so they cover the whole system (20,033 people), not just the Fritch branch.
What’s behind Fritch’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Fritch is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns. Fritch is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Fritch’s count of community nonprofits pulls 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 →
4 community nonprofits are registered in Fritch
1.9 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
31.1%
31.1% of Fritch’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 Fritch’s residents live; 2022.
78% of borrowing is digital
80K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
62,459 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hutchinson County Library serves 20,033 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 13 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hutchinson County Library system. The library’s own count.
About 3 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.
Find it
Hutchinson County Library - Fritch, 205 N Cornell Ave, Fritch.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hutchinson County Library branch.
New in Fritch? 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 $1.95 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fritch cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $641K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $641K 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 7,029 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Hutchinson County Library - Fritch is one branch of Hutchinson County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 20,033 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 Fritch
Does Fritch have a public library?
Yes: Hutchinson County Library - Fritch, 205 N Cornell Ave, is a branch of Hutchinson County Library, which serves 20,033 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hutchinson County 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 Fritch’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Fritch’s civic life grade?
B Fritch is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Fritch.
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.