Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0Robert Lee’s library logs 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Coke County Library serves 3,352 people in and around Robert Lee. Last year it lent 1,310 books, movies and e-books and logged 441 visits.
The short version on Robert Lee’s library
Coke County Library is used less than most libraries its size
Coke County Library records 0.1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Coke County Library offered 6 programs last year, 1.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 18 hours a week
The Robert Lee branch keeps short hours: about 18 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Coke County Library spends $7 per resident, less than 98% 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; Coke County Library serves 3,352 people in and around Robert Lee, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Robert Lee’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Robert Lee is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns. Robert Lee is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Robert Lee’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Robert Lee
14.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.0%
9.0% of Robert Lee’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 Robert Lee’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Coke County Library serves 3,352 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Coke County Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,310 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
6 programs a year
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
Coke County Library, 706 Austin St., Robert Lee.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every Coke County Library branch.
New in Robert Lee? 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 Robert Lee cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $22K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $21K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
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 226 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Coke County Library serves 3,352 people in and around Robert Lee, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Robert Lee.
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 Robert Lee
Does Robert Lee have a public library?
Yes. Coke County Library, 706 Austin St., serves 3,352 people in and around Robert Lee (the survey’s count) and is open about 18 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Coke County Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Robert Lee’s library?
It logged 0.1 visits and lent 0.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Robert Lee’s civic life grade?
A Robert Lee is ahead of 93% 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 Robert Lee.
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.