Photo: Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0Perry’s library is a branch of Three Rivers Regional Library System, which lends less per resident than 83% of systems its size
Perry’s library is the Taylor County Public Library, a branch of Three Rivers Regional Library System, which serves 62,161 people and lent 82K items last year.
Perry’s library, in brief
Florida pays a big share
43% of the budget comes from the state, and 55% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
52% of the 994 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 398 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; Perry’s library is a branch of Three Rivers Regional Library System, so they cover the whole system (62,161 people), not just the Perry branch.
What’s behind Perry’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Perry is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns, #199 of 273 in Florida. Perry is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Perry’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($31K–$51K) 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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Perry
2.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.2%
4.2% of Perry’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 Perry’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Three Rivers Regional Library System serves 62,161 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Three Rivers Regional Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
82K 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 Perry’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 8 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
Taylor County Public Library, 403 North Washington Street, Perry.
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 Perry cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.7M 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 30,198 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. Taylor County Public Library is one branch of Three Rivers Regional Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 62,161 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 Perry
Does Perry have a public library?
Yes: Taylor County Public Library, 403 North Washington Street, is a branch of Three Rivers Regional Library System, which serves 62,161 people. The branch is open about 45 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Three Rivers Regional Library System fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Perry’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Perry’s civic life grade?
D Perry is ahead of 10% of U.S. towns on civic life, #199 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 Perry.
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.