Photo: GreaterPonce665 · CC BY-SA 4.0Gifford’s library is a branch of Indian River County Library, which lends more per resident than 58% of systems its size
Gifford’s library is the Gifford Library, a branch of Indian River County Library, which serves 171,029 people and lent 627K items last year.
What Gifford’s library is like
Open only about 12 hours a week
The Gifford branch keeps short hours: about 12 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
79% of the people it serves carry a library card
135,747 cards for 171,029 people, or 79%. At the typical library serving 100,000+ people, it’s 41%. How it compares ↓
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; Gifford’s library is a branch of Indian River County Library, so they cover the whole system (171,029 people), not just the Gifford branch.
What’s behind Gifford’s civic life grade
Gifford isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Indian River County Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Gifford
Gifford is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
6.2%
6.2% of Gifford’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 Gifford’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Indian River County Library serves 171,029 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 77 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Indian River County Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
627K 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 Gifford’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 20 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
Gifford Library, 4875 43rd Avenue, Vero Beach.
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 $2.41 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Gifford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $4.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.5M 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 135,747 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gifford | Gifford Library | — | 12 | — unincorporated |
| Vero Beach | Indian River County Library | — | 49 | B+ |
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. Gifford Library is one branch of Indian River County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 171,029 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 Gifford
Does Gifford have a public library?
Yes: Gifford Library, 4875 43rd Avenue, is a branch of Indian River County Library, which serves 171,029 people. The branch is open about 12 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Indian River County Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Gifford’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 3.7 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Gifford’s civic life grade?
Gifford isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Indian River County Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Gifford.
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.