Spur’s library logs 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Dickens County Spur Public Library serves 1,711 people in and around Spur. Last year it lent 3,949 books, movies and e-books and logged 3,005 visits.
The short version on Spur’s library
Dickens County Spur Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Dickens County Spur Public Library records 1.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $19 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
34% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 66%. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Spur branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
Dickens County Spur Public Library spends $19 per resident, less than 92% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). 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; Dickens County Spur Public Library serves 1,711 people in and around Spur, 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 Spur’s civic life grade
Spur 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.
Dickens County Spur Public Library serves 1,711 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Dickens County Spur Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,949 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
952 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
33 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
Dickens County Spur Public Library, 403 E Hill St., Spur.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Dickens County Spur Public Library branch.
New in Spur? 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 $2.08 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Spur cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $32K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $67K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $32K 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 1,183 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Dickens County Spur Public Library serves 1,711 people in and around Spur, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Spur.
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 Spur
Does Spur have a public library?
Yes. Dickens County Spur Public Library, 403 E Hill St., serves 1,711 people in and around Spur (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Dickens County Spur 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 Spur’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Spur’s civic life grade?
Spur 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 Spur.
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.