Photo: Nsaum75 · CC BY-SA 3.0Hitchcock’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library serves Hitchcock’s 8,819 residents. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Hitchcock’s library
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $24 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Two of the three libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library holds 36,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 8% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 90% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind Hitchcock’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Hitchcock is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns, #287 of 539 in Texas. Hitchcock’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library spends $24 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($56K–$93K) 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 →
32 community nonprofits are registered in Hitchcock
4.2 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 (15 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Hitchcock’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 Hitchcock’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library serves 8,819 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
826 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
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 Hitchcock last year.
Find it
Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library, 8005 Barry Ave, Hitchcock.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Hitchcock? 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 Hitchcock cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $215K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $181K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $215K 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 5,934 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Hitchcock borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitchcock | Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library | 1.2 | 32 | C− |
| Santa Fe | Mae S Bruce Library fine-free | 1.1 | 50 | C+ |
| La Marque | La Marque Public Library fine-free | 0.5 | 38 | D |
| Alvin | Alvin Library | — | 48 | C |
| Bayou Vista | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Tiki Island | None of its own | — | — | C |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
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 Hitchcock
Does Hitchcock have a public library?
Yes. Genevieve Miller Hitchcock Public Library, 8005 Barry Ave, serves Hitchcock’s 8,819 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 32 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Genevieve Miller Hitchcock 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 Hitchcock’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Hitchcock’s civic life grade?
C− Hitchcock is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns on civic life, #287 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 Hitchcock.
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.