Photo: User:Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 4.0Bonifay’s library is a branch of Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System, which lends less per resident than 93% of systems its size
Bonifay’s library is the Holmes County Public Library, a branch of Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System, which serves 74,371 people and lent 54K items last year.
What Bonifay’s library is like
The Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System is used less than most libraries its size
The Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System records 1.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 0.7 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. How it compares ↓
Florida pays a big share
38% of the budget comes from the state, and 58% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. 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; Bonifay’s library is a branch of Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System, so they cover the whole system (74,371 people), not just the Bonifay branch.
What’s behind Bonifay’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bonifay is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #209 of 273 in Florida. Bonifay is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Bonifay’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$51K) 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Bonifay
2.2 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
5.2%
5.2% of Bonifay’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 Bonifay’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System serves 74,371 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
54K 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 Bonifay’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 9 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
Holmes County Public Library, 303 North J. Harvey Etheridge Stree, Bonifay.
Good at every Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System branch.
New in Bonifay? 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 Bonifay cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M 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 5,409 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Holmes County Public Library is one branch of Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 74,371 people it serves.
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 Bonifay
Does Bonifay have a public library?
Yes: Holmes County Public Library, 303 North J. Harvey Etheridge Stree, is a branch of Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System, which serves 74,371 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bonifay’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 0.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bonifay’s civic life grade?
D Bonifay is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #209 of 273 in Florida. 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 Bonifay.
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.