Dade City Woman's Club · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY 2.5Dade City’s library is a branch of Pasco County Public Library Cooperative, which lends less per resident than 74% of systems its size
Dade City’s library is the Hugh Embry Branch Library, a branch of Pasco County Public Library Cooperative, which serves 634,768 people and lent 1.3M items last year.
The short version on Dade City’s library
Fewer visits than most libraries its size
The Pasco County Public Library Cooperative system records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, below 95% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing holds up better, at 2 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
64% of the 5,896 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 1,639 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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; Dade City’s library is a branch of Pasco County Public Library Cooperative, so they cover the whole system (634,768 people), not just the Dade City branch.
What’s behind Dade City’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Dade City is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #212 of 273 in Florida. Dade City is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Dade City’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Pasco County Public Library Cooperative spends $18 per resident, against a typical $36 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$88K) 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Dade City
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.
5.1%
5.1% of Dade City’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 Dade City’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Pasco County Public Library Cooperative serves 634,768 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Pasco County Public Library Cooperative
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Pasco County Public Library Cooperative system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1.3M 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 Dade City’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 32 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
Hugh Embry Branch Library, 14215 Fourth Street, Dade City.
No late fees. Good at every Pasco County Public Library Cooperative branch.
New in Dade City? 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 $2.05 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Dade City cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $23M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 372,421 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dade City | Hugh Embry Branch Library fine-free | — | — | D |
| Dade City North | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Pasadena Hills | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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. Hugh Embry Branch Library is one branch of Pasco County Public Library Cooperative, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 634,768 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 Dade City
Does Dade City have a public library?
Yes: Hugh Embry Branch Library, 14215 Fourth Street, is a branch of Pasco County Public Library Cooperative, which serves 634,768 people.
Is Pasco County Public Library Cooperative fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Dade City’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 2.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Dade City’s civic life grade?
D Dade City is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #212 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 Dade City.
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.