Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 3.0Monticello’s library is a branch of Wilderness Coast Public Libraries, which lends less per resident than 80% of systems its size
Monticello’s library is the Jefferson County Public Library, a branch of Wilderness Coast Public Libraries, which serves 61,534 people and lent 92K items last year.
The short version on Monticello’s library
Florida pays a big share
40% of the budget comes from the state, and 59% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 1,079 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 326 were for children. 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; Monticello’s library is a branch of Wilderness Coast Public Libraries, so they cover the whole system (61,534 people), not just the Monticello branch.
What’s behind Monticello’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Monticello is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #32 of 273 in Florida. Monticello is graded on two of the three inputs. Monticello’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
29 community nonprofits are registered in Monticello
10.8 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 (8 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.
5.0%
5.0% of Monticello’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 Monticello’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.
Wilderness Coast Public Libraries serves 61,534 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
A year at Wilderness Coast Public Libraries
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Wilderness Coast Public Libraries 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
92K 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 Monticello’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 6 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
Jefferson County Public Library, 375 South Water Street, Monticello.
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 Monticello cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.2M 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 22,465 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. Jefferson County Public Library is one branch of Wilderness Coast Public Libraries, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 61,534 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 Monticello
Does Monticello have a public library?
Yes: Jefferson County Public Library, 375 South Water Street, is a branch of Wilderness Coast Public Libraries, which serves 61,534 people. The branch is open about 50 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wilderness Coast Public Libraries fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Monticello’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Monticello’s civic life grade?
B Monticello is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on civic life, #32 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 Monticello.
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.