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Apalachicolastreet1Photo: Thomsonmg2000 · Public domain
Apalachicola Margaret Key Library

Apalachicola’s library logs 11 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size

Apalachicola Margaret Key Library serves Apalachicola’s 2,470 residents. Last year it lent 8,650 print books and media and logged 27K visits.

80 12th Street, Apalachicola 32320 · about 44 hours a week
A−Civic lifeAhead of 77% of U.S. towns. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Directions (850) 653-8436 What’s a card worth?
Borrowed a year
8,650
3.5 per resident
Visits a year
27K
11 per resident · Above typical (3.5)
Cardholders
58%
1,421 cards
Open
44 hrs
a week

What stands out about Apalachicola’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Always busyFine-free
Civic life grade

What’s behind Apalachicola’s civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Apalachicola is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns. Apalachicola’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.

A−
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Apalachicola’s overall grade.
A+Library visits11.0 visits per resident · FL towns 2.6 · U.S. 3.4A+Community nonprofits15.6 per 1,000 residents · FL towns 3.3 · U.S. 3.7DVolunteering4.3% of adults 25–44 · FL towns 5.6% · U.S. 7.5%
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 77%
FewerMore
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $39K–$65K (5,498)Ahead of 75%

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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. Apalachicola is small (2,473 residents), so a few dozen organizations or visits move its per-resident figures; the volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

38 community nonprofits are registered in Apalachicola

15.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture62.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation31.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans31.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services93.70 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education62.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.82 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals62.47 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other31.23 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

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.

Volunteering

4.3%

4.3% of Apalachicola’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 5.6% in the typical Florida 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 Apalachicola’s residents live; 2022.

★ What stands out · A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

27K
visits
11 per resident
8,650
loans, print + digital
3.5 per resident
1,421
library cards
58% of people served
Every open hour4items borrowed
Every week522visits
3 staff (full-time equivalent)8 public computers12K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 4 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 11 visits · typical 3.5Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 3.5 print items · typical 3.9Lower than 54%
Cardholders 58% of residents · typical 54%Higher than 53%
Spending $68 per resident · typical $54Higher than 64%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Apalachicola Margaret Key Library serves 2,470 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.

What people borrow

Books and media off the shelf

8,650 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.

The survey has no count of children’s loans for Apalachicola’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.

How hard the shelves work
0.7×

Each of the 12K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.7 time last year, on average.

The building

Find it

Apalachicola Municipal Library, 80 12th Street, Apalachicola.

Directions(850) 653-8436
44
hours open a week
4,400
square feet
12K
books & media
With a card

No late fees.

New in Apalachicola? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Apalachicola cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$68 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $167K.

Local taxes 99%State 1%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $147K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $167K 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 1,421 cardholders ÷ 12.

How to read these numbers

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.

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 Apalachicola

Does Apalachicola have a public library?

Yes. Apalachicola Margaret Key Library, 80 12th Street, serves Apalachicola’s 2,470 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Apalachicola Margaret Key Library fine-free?

Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).

How busy is Apalachicola’s library?

It logged 11.0 visits and lent 3.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.

What is Apalachicola’s civic life grade?

A− Apalachicola is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Apalachicola.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.