Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 3.0Lakeland’s library is a branch of Polk County Library Cooperative, which lends less per resident than 69% of systems its size
Lakeland’s library is the Lakeland Public Library, a branch of Polk County Library Cooperative, which serves 822,769 people and lent 1.8M items last year.
What stands out about Lakeland Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Lakeland’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Lakeland is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns, #130 of 273 in Florida. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #185. Lakeland is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Lakeland’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($48K–$80K) 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 →
389 community nonprofits are registered in Lakeland
3.2 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 (239 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 19 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.3%
6.3% of Lakeland’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 Lakeland’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.
Polk County Library Cooperative serves 822,769 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Polk County Library Cooperative
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Polk County Library Cooperative system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1.8M 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 Lakeland’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.
3 places to borrow in Lakeland
Lakeland Public Library, 100 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Polk County Library Cooperative branches in Lakeland
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Lakeland cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $15M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $32M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15M 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 916,741 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland | Lakeland Public Library | — | 57 | C |
| Polk City | Polk City Municipal Library | — | 40 | D− |
| Plant City | Bruton Memorial Library fine-free | — | 46 | D |
| Crystal Lake | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Combee Settlement | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Lakeland Highlands | 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. Lakeland Public Library is one branch of Polk County Library Cooperative, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 822,769 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 Lakeland
Does Lakeland have a public library?
Yes: Lakeland Public Library, 100 Lake Morton Drive, is a branch of Polk County Library Cooperative, which serves 822,769 people. The branch is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Polk County Library Cooperative fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Lakeland’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 2.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Lakeland’s civic life grade?
C Lakeland is ahead of 26% of U.S. towns on civic life, #130 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 Lakeland.
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.