Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0LaBelle’s library is a branch of Hendry County Library System, which lends less per resident than 87% of systems its size
LaBelle’s library is the Labelle Free Public Library, a branch of Hendry County Library System, which serves 45,413 people and lent 50K items last year.
The short version on LaBelle’s library
The Hendry County Library System is used less than most libraries its size
The Hendry County Library System records 1.2 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people. Borrowing is 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7. It also spends less than most: $18 per resident, against a typical $40. How it compares ↓
80% of the people it serves carry a library card
36,254 cards for 45,413 people, or 80%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. 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; LaBelle’s library is a branch of Hendry County Library System, so they cover the whole system (45,413 people), not just the LaBelle branch.
What’s behind LaBelle’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, LaBelle is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #101 of 273 in Florida. LaBelle is graded on two of the three inputs. LaBelle’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 ($40K–$67K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in LaBelle
5.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.5%
4.5% of LaBelle’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 LaBelle’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.
Hendry County Library System serves 45,413 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hendry County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
50K 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 LaBelle’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 3 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
Labelle Free Public Library, 461 North Main Street, Labelle.
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 $1.12 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average LaBelle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $821K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $920K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $821K 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 36,254 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaBelle | Labelle Free Public Library | — | 40 | C |
| Port LaBelle | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Fort Denaud | 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. Labelle Free Public Library is one branch of Hendry County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 45,413 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 LaBelle
Does LaBelle have a public library?
Yes: Labelle Free Public Library, 461 North Main Street, is a branch of Hendry County Library System, which serves 45,413 people. The branch is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hendry County Library System fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is LaBelle’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 1.1 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is LaBelle’s civic life grade?
C LaBelle is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on civic life, #101 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 LaBelle.
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.