Photo: Skye Marthaler · CC BY-SA 4.0Niceville’s library is a branch of Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative, which lends less per resident than 80% of systems its size
Niceville’s library is the Niceville Public Library, a branch of Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative, which serves 311,554 people and lent 562K items last year.
The short version on Niceville’s library
The Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative system is used less than most libraries its size
The Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative system records 1.3 visits per resident, against a typical 2.1 for libraries serving 100,000+ people. Borrowing is 1.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2. It also spends less than most: $18 per resident, against a typical $36. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 13% of the people the system serves have a library card, against a typical 41% for its size. 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; Niceville’s library is a branch of Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative, so they cover the whole system (311,554 people), not just the Niceville branch.
What’s behind Niceville’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Niceville is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #57 of 273 in Florida. Niceville is graded on two of the three inputs. Niceville’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 →
75 community nonprofits are registered in Niceville
4.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.7%
6.7% of Niceville’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 Niceville’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.
Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative serves 311,554 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
562K 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 Niceville’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 26 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
Niceville Public Library, 206 North Partin Drive, Niceville.
No late fees. Good at every Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative branch.
New in Niceville? The Handbook →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 $1.86 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Niceville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M 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 39,130 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niceville | Niceville Public Library fine-free | — | 49 | B− |
| Valparaiso | Valparaiso Community Library fine-free | — | 39 | C |
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. Niceville Public Library is one branch of Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 311,554 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 Niceville
Does Niceville have a public library?
Yes: Niceville Public Library, 206 North Partin Drive, is a branch of Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative, which serves 311,554 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Niceville’s library?
It logged 1.3 visits and lent 1.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Niceville’s civic life grade?
B− Niceville is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on civic life, #57 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 Niceville.
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.