Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Florence’s library logs 1.6 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
John C. Fremont Library District (Florence) serves 10,824 people in and around Florence. Last year it lent 33K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
The short version on Florence’s library
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 154 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 72 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Almost all the borrowing is off the shelf
Only 5% of loans are e-books, audiobooks or streaming, fewer per resident than at 92% 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; John C. Fremont Library District (Florence) serves 10,824 people in and around Florence, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Florence’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Florence is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #12 of 104 in Colorado. Florence is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
19 community nonprofits are registered in Florence
4.8 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.8%
12.8% of Florence’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.8% in the typical Colorado 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 Florence’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
John C. Fremont Library District (Florence) serves 10,824 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 18 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole John C. Fremont Library District (Florence) system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
33K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
1,795 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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
John C. Fremont Library District (Florence), 130 Church Ave, Florence.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every John C. Fremont Library District (Florence) branch.
New in Florence? 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 $2.00 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Florence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $294K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $588K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $294K 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 4,638 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. John C. Fremont Library District (Florence) serves 10,824 people in and around Florence, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Florence.
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 Florence
Does Florence have a public library?
Yes. John C. Fremont Library District (Florence), 130 Church Ave, serves 10,824 people in and around Florence (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is John C. Fremont Library District (Florence) 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 Florence’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 3.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Florence’s civic life grade?
A Florence is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #12 of 104 in Colorado. 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 Florence.
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.