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Revised Littlefield, TX, City Hall IMG 4776Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lamb County Library

Littlefield’s library runs 9.9 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size

Lamb County Library serves 7,841 people in and around Littlefield. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.

110 E 6th St., Littlefield 79339 · about 44 hours a week
C−Civic lifeAhead of 17% of U.S. towns · #348 of 539 in Texas. Nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (806) 385-5223 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
20K
2.5 per resident
Visits a year
16K
2.1 per resident · Below typical (3)
Programs & events
78
about 2 a week · 1,458 attended
Cardholders
33%
2,571 cards
Open
44 hrs
a week at this branch
In brief

The short version on Littlefield’s library

Below typical on every measure

Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Lamb County Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓

Few programs for a library this size

Lamb County Library offered 78 programs last year, 9.9 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓

Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf

Only 3% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 91% 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; Lamb County Library serves 7,841 people in and around Littlefield, and its numbers cover all of them.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Littlefield’s civic life grade

On community nonprofits and volunteering, Littlefield is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #348 of 539 in Texas. Littlefield is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Littlefield’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.

C−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Littlefield’s overall grade.
–Library visitsServed by a county or regional system, so there is no town figureC+Community nonprofits3.4 per 1,000 residents · TX towns 3.3 · U.S. 3.7DVolunteering4.4% of adults 25–44 · TX towns 5.7% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 17%
FewerMore
Texas towns we grade (539)Ahead of 36%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $45K–$76K (7,827)Ahead of 16%

Lamb County Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$76K) 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.

How sure. Graded on two inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. Littlefield is small (5,675 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

20 community nonprofits are registered in Littlefield

3.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture10.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation10.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans30.52 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services50.86 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education20.34 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health10.17 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals00.00 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other71.20 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

4.4%

4.4% of Littlefield’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 Littlefield’s residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.1 visits · typical 3Lower than 65%
Borrowing per resident 2.5 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 70%
Digital borrowing 0.1 e-items · typical 1Bottom 10%
Kids’ borrowing 1.1 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 64%
Program attendance 0.2 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 80%
Programs offered 9.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 85%
Cardholders 33% of residents · typical 42%Lower than 65%
Spending $21 per resident · typical $43Lower than 83%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Lamb County Library serves 7,841 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Lamb County Library system. The library’s own count.

16K
visits
2.1 per resident
20K
loans, print + digital
2.5 per resident
78
programs & events
1,458 attended
2,571
library cards
33% of people served
Every open hour9items borrowed
Every week28people at a program
Every week316visits
2 staff (full-time equivalent)7 public computers
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

20Kloans
Books & media (adults) 53%Kids’ books & media 45%E-books, audio & streaming 3%
From your couch

544 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.

Kids & programs

78 programs a year

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Littlefield →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–512
Ages 6–1121
Teens24
Adults3
All ages18
Little ones
0.2

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

8,896
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,458
people at programs
78
programs
The building

Find it

Lamb County Library, 110 E 6th St., Littlefield.

Directions(806) 385-5223
44
hours open a week
3,792
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Lamb County Library branch.

New in Littlefield? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.89 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Littlefield cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$21 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $163K.

Local taxes 97%Gifts & other 3%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $308K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $163K 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 2,571 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.

  • System-wide. Lamb County Library serves 7,841 people in and around Littlefield, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Littlefield.

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 Littlefield

Does Littlefield have a public library?

Yes. Lamb County Library, 110 E 6th St., serves 7,841 people in and around Littlefield (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Lamb 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 Littlefield’s library?

It logged 2.1 visits and lent 2.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.

What is Littlefield’s civic life grade?

C− Littlefield is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #348 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 Littlefield.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.