Barberville Central High School · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY 2.5Pierson’s library is a branch of Volusia County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 54% of systems its size
Pierson’s library is the Pierson Public Library, a branch of Volusia County Public Library, which serves 592,852 people and lent 1.8M items last year.
What stands out about Pierson Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Pierson’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Pierson is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns. Pierson is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Pierson’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($43K–$71K) 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 →
3 community nonprofits are registered in Pierson
2.4 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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.1%
4.1% of Pierson’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 Pierson’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Volusia County Public Library serves 592,852 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 49 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Volusia County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1.8M 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 Pierson’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 68 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
Pierson Public Library, 115 North Volusia Avenue, Pierson.
No late fees. Good at every Volusia County Public Library branch.
New in Pierson? 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 $1.58 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Pierson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $22M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $34M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $22M 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 254,432 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. Pierson Public Library is one branch of Volusia County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 592,852 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 Pierson
Does Pierson have a public library?
Yes: Pierson Public Library, 115 North Volusia Avenue, is a branch of Volusia County Public Library, which serves 592,852 people. The branch is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Volusia County Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Pierson’s library?
It logged 2.1 visits and lent 3.0 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Pierson’s civic life grade?
D Pierson is ahead of 6% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Pierson.
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.