Hull-Hawkins House · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0Live Oak’s library runs 35 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Suwannee River Regional Library System serves 73,454 people in and around Live Oak. Last year it lent 102K print books and media and logged 185K visits.
Live Oak’s library, in brief
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
72,985 cards for 73,454 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Suwannee River Regional Library System spends $75 per resident, more than 82% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 52% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Florida pays a big share
28% of the budget comes from the state, and 72% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Suwannee River Regional Library System ran 2,556 programs last year, about 49 a week. That’s 35 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
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; Suwannee River Regional Library System serves 73,454 people in and around Live Oak, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Live Oak’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Live Oak is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #75 of 273 in Florida. Live Oak is graded on two of the three inputs. Live Oak’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 ($45K–$74K) 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 →
48 community nonprofits are registered in Live Oak
6.9 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 (16 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.1%
4.1% of Live Oak’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 Live Oak’s residents live; 2022.
About 19 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.
Suwannee River Regional Library System serves 73,454 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Suwannee River Regional Library System
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Suwannee River Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Books and media off the shelf
102K 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 Live Oak’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Find it
Suwannee River Regional Library System, 1848 Ohio Avenue South/M.L. King Av, Live Oak.
Good at every Suwannee River Regional Library System branch.
New in Live Oak? 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 Live Oak cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $5.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.5M 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 72,985 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: hours open. The survey filled the figure with its own estimate, so it is left out.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Suwannee River Regional Library System serves 73,454 people in and around Live Oak, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Live Oak.
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 Live Oak
Does Live Oak have a public library?
Yes. Suwannee River Regional Library System, 1848 Ohio Avenue South/M.L. King Av, serves 73,454 people in and around Live Oak (the survey’s count).
Is Suwannee River Regional Library System fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Live Oak’s library?
It logged 2.5 visits and lent 1.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Live Oak’s civic life grade?
C+ Live Oak is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on civic life, #75 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 Live Oak.
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.