Photo: JonathanPuello · CC BY-SA 4.0Fort Pierce’s library is a branch of St. Lucie County Library System, which lends less per resident than 86% of systems its size
Fort Pierce’s library is the Susan Broom Kilmer Branch Library, a branch of St. Lucie County Library System, which serves 385,605 people and lent 569K items last year.
What stands out about Susan Broom Kilmer Branch Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Fort Pierce’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Fort Pierce is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #89 of 273 in Florida. Fort Pierce is graded on two of the three inputs. Fort Pierce’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($35K–$59K) 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 →
252 community nonprofits are registered in Fort Pierce
5.1 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 (133 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 17 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.0%
5.0% of Fort Pierce’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 Fort Pierce’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
St. Lucie County Library System serves 385,605 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 35 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole St. Lucie County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
569K 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 Fort Pierce’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 23 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.
2 places to borrow in Fort Pierce
Susan Broom Kilmer Branch Library, 101 Melody Lane, Fort Pierce.
No late fees. Good at every St. Lucie County Library System branch.
New in Fort Pierce? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other St. Lucie County Library System branches in Fort Pierce
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.54 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fort Pierce cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $6.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.6M 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 134,687 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Pierce | Susan Broom Kilmer Branch Library fine-free | — | 53 | C+ |
| Fort Pierce North | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Fort Pierce South | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| White City | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Indian River Estates | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| St. Lucie Village | 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. Susan Broom Kilmer Branch Library is one branch of St. Lucie County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 385,605 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 Fort Pierce
Does Fort Pierce have a public library?
Yes: Susan Broom Kilmer Branch Library, 101 Melody Lane, is a branch of St. Lucie County Library System, which serves 385,605 people. The branch is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is St. Lucie County Library System fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fort Pierce’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Fort Pierce’s civic life grade?
C+ Fort Pierce is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on civic life, #89 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 Fort Pierce.
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.