Photo: Radomianin · CC BY-SA 4.0Key West’s library is a branch of Monroe County Public Library System, which lends less per resident than 62% of systems its size
Key West’s library is the May Hill Russell Library, a branch of Monroe County Public Library System, which serves 84,145 people and lent 239K items last year.
What stands out about May Hill Russell Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Key West’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Key West is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #7 of 273 in Florida. Key West is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Key West’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
199 community nonprofits are registered in Key West
7.7 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 (36 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.6%
7.6% of Key West’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 Key West’s residents live; 2022.
About 22 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Monroe County Public Library System serves 84,145 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 17 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Monroe County Public Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
239K 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 Key West’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
May Hill Russell Library, 700 Fleming Street, Key West.
No late fees. Good at every Monroe County Public Library System branch.
New in Key West? 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 Key West cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.6M 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 31,367 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key West | May Hill Russell Library fine-free | — | 55 | A− |
| Stock Island | 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. May Hill Russell Library is one branch of Monroe County Public Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 84,145 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 Key West
Does Key West have a public library?
Yes: May Hill Russell Library, 700 Fleming Street, is a branch of Monroe County Public Library System, which serves 84,145 people. The branch is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Monroe County Public Library System fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Key West’s library?
It logged 3.4 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Key West’s civic life grade?
A− Key West is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 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 Key West.
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.