Photo: Aualliso · CC BY-SA 4.0Sanderson’s library lends 1.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Terrell County Public Library serves 687 people in and around Sanderson. Last year it lent 1,305 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,683 visits.
What Sanderson’s library is like
Few programs for a library this size
Terrell County Public Library offered 0 programs last year, 0 per 1,000 residents against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving under 2,500 people, Terrell County Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Sanderson branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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; Terrell County Public Library serves 687 people in and around Sanderson, and its numbers cover all of them; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Sanderson’s civic life grade
Sanderson isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Terrell County Public Library serves 687 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Terrell County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,305 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
112 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
What kids borrow
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Find it
Terrell County Public Library, 109 E Hackberry, Sanderson.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Good at every Terrell County Public Library branch.
New in Sanderson? 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 Sanderson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $22K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 375 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Terrell County Public Library serves 687 people in and around Sanderson, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sanderson.
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 Sanderson
Does Sanderson have a public library?
Yes. Terrell County Public Library, 109 E Hackberry, serves 687 people in and around Sanderson (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Terrell County 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 Sanderson’s library?
It logged 2.4 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Sanderson’s civic life grade?
Sanderson isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Sanderson.
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.