Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Hereford’s library lends 7.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Deaf Smith County Library serves 18,347 people in and around Hereford. Last year it lent 212K books, movies and e-books and logged 36K visits.
The short version on Hereford’s library
Programs are almost all for children
95% of the 198 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 3.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People borrow more than they stay
Borrowing per resident is higher than at 83% of similar-size libraries, but visits are lower than at 71%. People come in, pick up their books and go, or skip the trip: 32% of loans are digital. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 93% of similar-size libraries. It’s 32% of all loans. 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; Deaf Smith County Library serves 18,347 people in and around Hereford, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hereford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hereford is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #399 of 539 in Texas. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Hereford’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Deaf Smith County Library spends $20 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
45 community nonprofits are registered in Hereford
3.0 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
2.7%
2.7% of Hereford’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 Hereford’s residents live; 2022.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
212K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
68,256 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 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Deaf Smith County Library serves 18,347 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 97 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Deaf Smith County Library system. The library’s own count.
About 4 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
Deaf Smith County Library, 211 E 4th St., Hereford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Deaf Smith County Library branch.
New in Hereford? 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 $8.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hereford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $359K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $359K 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 6,834 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Deaf Smith County Library serves 18,347 people in and around Hereford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hereford.
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 Hereford
Does Hereford have a public library?
Yes. Deaf Smith County Library, 211 E 4th St., serves 18,347 people in and around Hereford (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Deaf Smith 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 Hereford’s library?
It logged 2.0 visits and lent 11.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hereford’s civic life grade?
D Hereford is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #399 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 Hereford.
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.