Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0George West’s library logs 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Live Oak County Library serves 10,315 people in and around George West. Last year it lent 6,253 books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
What George West’s library is like
Live Oak County Library is used less than most libraries its size
Live Oak County Library records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Live Oak County Library offered 6 programs last year, 0.6 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
Runs on less money than most
Live Oak County Library spends $14 per resident, less than 91% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Live Oak County Library serves 10,315 people in and around George West, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind George West’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, George West is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. George West is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
16 community nonprofits are registered in George West
5.0 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.
13.1%
13.1% of George West’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 George West’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Live Oak County Library serves 10,315 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Live Oak County Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
6,253 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,129 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
6 programs a year
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
Live Oak County Library, 402 Houston St., George West.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Live Oak County Library branch.
New in George West? 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 George West cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $140K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $91K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $140K 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 6,512 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Live Oak County Library serves 10,315 people in and around George West, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just George West.
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 George West
Does George West have a public library?
Yes. Live Oak County Library, 402 Houston St., serves 10,315 people in and around George West (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Live Oak 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 George West’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 0.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is George West’s civic life grade?
A George West is ahead of 92% 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 George West.
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.