Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainSeminole’s library runs 7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Gaines County Library serves 22,523 people in and around Seminole. Last year it lent 89K books, movies and e-books and logged 40K visits.
The short version on Seminole’s library
Programs are almost all for children
87% of the 157 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Gaines County Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 6% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 88% 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; Gaines County Library serves 22,523 people in and around Seminole, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Seminole’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Seminole is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns, #477 of 539 in Texas. Seminole is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Seminole’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Gaines County Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($45K–$75K) 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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Seminole
1.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
3.6%
3.6% of Seminole’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 Seminole’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Gaines County Library serves 22,523 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Gaines County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
89K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
5,679 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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
Gaines County Library, 704 Hobbs Hwy, Seminole.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Gaines County Library branch.
New in Seminole? 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 $3.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Seminole cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $464K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $464K 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 7,130 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Gaines County Library serves 22,523 people in and around Seminole, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Seminole.
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 Seminole
Does Seminole have a public library?
Yes. Gaines County Library, 704 Hobbs Hwy, serves 22,523 people in and around Seminole (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gaines 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 Seminole’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 4.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Seminole’s civic life grade?
D− Seminole is ahead of 2% of U.S. towns on civic life, #477 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 Seminole.
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.