Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0White Oak’s library logs 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
White Oak School Community Library serves 8,246 people in and around White Oak. Last year it lent 4,129 print books and media and logged 3,396 visits.
White Oak’s library, in brief
White Oak School Community Library is used less than most libraries its size
White Oak School Community Library records 0.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $14 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
White Oak School Community Library offered 10 programs last year, 1.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Open only about 15 hours a week
The White Oak branch keeps short hours: about 15 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Runs on less money than most
White Oak School Community Library spends $14 per resident, less than 92% 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; White Oak School Community Library serves 8,246 people in and around White Oak, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind White Oak’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, White Oak is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns, #341 of 539 in Texas. White Oak is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
White Oak School Community Library spends $14 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($76K–$126K) 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in White Oak
2.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.8%
6.8% of White Oak’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 White Oak’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
White Oak School Community Library serves 8,246 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 6 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole White Oak School Community Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,129 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
10 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
White Oak School Community Library, 200 S White Oak Rd, White Oak.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every White Oak School Community Library branch.
New in White Oak? 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 White Oak cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $114K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $74K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $114K 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 2,930 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longview | Longview Public Library | 2.3 | 54 | C− |
| White Oak | White Oak School Community Library fine-free | — | 15 | C− |
| Clarksville City | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. White Oak School Community Library serves 8,246 people in and around White Oak, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just White Oak.
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 White Oak
Does White Oak have a public library?
Yes. White Oak School Community Library, 200 S White Oak Rd, serves 8,246 people in and around White Oak (the survey’s count) and is open about 15 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is White Oak School Community Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is White Oak’s library?
It logged 0.4 visits and lent 0.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is White Oak’s civic life grade?
C− White Oak is ahead of 18% of U.S. towns on civic life, #341 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 White Oak.
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.