Mai-Kai Restaurant · Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0Oakland Park’s library lends 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library serves Oakland Park’s 46,039 residents. Last year it lent 25K print books and media and drew 7,967 people to its programs.
The short version on Oakland Park’s library
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 184 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library offered 184 programs last year, 4 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
75% of Oakland Park carry a library card
34,535 cards for 46,039 people, or 75%. 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.
What’s behind Oakland Park’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Oakland Park is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns, #152 of 273 in Florida. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Oakland Park is graded on two of the three inputs. Oakland Park’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
The survey’s stand-in for Oakland Park’s 2024 visits carries forward a 2022 figure, so it is left out.
Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library spends $21 per resident, against a typical $40 for libraries its size.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($55K–$91K) 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 →
177 community nonprofits are registered in Oakland Park
4.0 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 (69 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 11 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.7%
3.7% of Oakland Park’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 Oakland Park’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 5 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library serves 46,039 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 9 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. 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
25K 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 Oakland Park’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 40K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
About 3 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library, 1298 Northeast 37th Street, Oakland Park.
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 Oakland Park cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $986K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $507K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $986K 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 34,535 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilton Manors | Richard C. Sullivan Public Library | 1.9 | 41 | D− |
| Oakland Park | Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library fine-free | 0.5 | 52 | C− |
| Fort Lauderdale | Broward County Main Library fine-free | — | 46 | C+ |
| Lauderdale Lakes | Lauderdale Lakes Branch fine-free | — | 46 | D |
| Tamarac | Tamarac Branch fine-free | — | 52 | D |
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.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate carries forward its 2022 figure, so we leave it out and never rank it.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Oakland Park
Does Oakland Park have a public library?
Yes. Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library, 1298 Northeast 37th Street, serves Oakland Park’s 46,039 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Oakland Park’s library?
It lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024 (print) and ran 184 programs that drew 7,967 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Oakland Park’s civic life grade?
C− Oakland Park is ahead of 20% of U.S. towns on civic life, #152 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 Oakland Park.
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.