Photo: Renelibrary · CC BY-SA 4.0Hemphill’s library runs 0.5 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Jr Huffman Public Library serves 9,204 people in and around Hemphill. Last year it lent 26K print books and media and logged 5,939 visits.
The short version on Hemphill’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
73% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 27%. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Jr Huffman Public Library offered 5 programs last year, 0.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Jr Huffman Public Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
Jr Huffman Public Library records 0.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, below 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2.9 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Jr Huffman Public Library spends $9 per resident, less than 96% 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; Jr Huffman Public Library serves 9,204 people in and around Hemphill, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hemphill’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hemphill is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns. Hemphill is graded on two of the three inputs. Hemphill’s count of community nonprofits holds 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 →
7 community nonprofits are registered in Hemphill
4.5 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.2%
7.2% of Hemphill’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 Hemphill’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Jr Huffman Public Library serves 9,204 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Jr Huffman Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
26K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
5 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Jr Huffman Public Library, 375 Sabine St., Hemphill.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Jr Huffman Public Library branch.
New in Hemphill? 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 $4.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hemphill cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $85K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $416K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $85K 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 3,480 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Jr Huffman Public Library serves 9,204 people in and around Hemphill, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hemphill.
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 Hemphill
Does Hemphill have a public library?
Yes. Jr Huffman Public Library, 375 Sabine St., serves 9,204 people in and around Hemphill (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Jr Huffman 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 Hemphill’s library?
It logged 0.6 visits and lent 2.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hemphill’s civic life grade?
B Hemphill is ahead of 55% 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 Hemphill.
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.