Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Hallettsville’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Friench Simpson Memorial Library serves Hallettsville’s 2,756 residents. Last year it lent 37K books, movies and e-books and logged 17K visits.
What Hallettsville’s library is like
More library cards than residents
8,550 cards for 2,756 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Top 10% in Texas for borrowing
Hallettsville ranks #6 of 183 Texas towns with a library of their own for items borrowed per resident. Print borrowing alone runs 11 items per resident, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 18 items per child in Hallettsville last year. Kids & programs ↓
Hallettsville invests in its library
Friench Simpson Memorial Library spends $109 per resident a year, about twice the typical $43 for a library its size. 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.
What’s behind Hallettsville’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hallettsville is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #62 of 539 in Texas. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
17 community nonprofits are registered in Hallettsville
6.0 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.
6.3%
6.3% of Hallettsville’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 Hallettsville’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Friench Simpson Memorial Library serves 2,756 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
37K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 21K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.5 time last year, on average.
6,192 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
39 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 Hallettsville last year.
Find it
Friench Simpson Memorial Library, 705 E 4th St., Hallettsville.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hallettsville? 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 $1.94 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hallettsville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $300K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $582K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $300K 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 8,550 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 Hallettsville
Does Hallettsville have a public library?
Yes. Friench Simpson Memorial Library, 705 E 4th St., serves Hallettsville’s 2,756 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 24 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Friench Simpson 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 Hallettsville’s library?
It logged 6.2 visits and lent 13.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hallettsville’s civic life grade?
B+ Hallettsville is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #62 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 Hallettsville.
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.