El Jobean Post Office and General Store · Photo: Wknight94 · CC BY-SA 3.0Port Charlotte’s library is a branch of Charlotte County Public Library, which lends less per resident than 58% of systems its size
Port Charlotte’s library is the Mid-County Regional Library, a branch of Charlotte County Public Library, which serves 209,334 people and lent 590K items last year.
What stands out about Mid-County Regional Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Port Charlotte’s civic life grade
Port Charlotte isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Charlotte County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits.
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 →
Volunteering in Port Charlotte
Port Charlotte is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
5.4%
5.4% of Port Charlotte’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 Port Charlotte’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.
Charlotte County Public Library serves 209,334 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
A year at Charlotte County Public Library
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Charlotte County Public Library 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
590K 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 Port Charlotte’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 13 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.
2 places to borrow in Port Charlotte
Mid-County Regional Library, 2050 Forrest Nelson Boulevard, Port Charlotte.
Good at every Charlotte County Public Library branch.
New in Port Charlotte? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Charlotte County Public Library branches in Port Charlotte
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Charlotte cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.8M 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 81,544 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Charlotte | Mid-County Regional Library | — | — | — unincorporated |
| Charlotte Harbor | None of its own | — | — | — unincorporated |
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: 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. Mid-County Regional Library is one branch of Charlotte County Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 209,334 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 Port Charlotte
Does Port Charlotte have a public library?
Yes: Mid-County Regional Library, 2050 Forrest Nelson Boulevard, is a branch of Charlotte County Public Library, which serves 209,334 people.
Is Charlotte County Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Port Charlotte’s library?
It logged 1.4 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Port Charlotte’s civic life grade?
Port Charlotte isn’t graded on civic life: it’s unincorporated, so its nonprofits can’t be counted reliably (mailing addresses don’t follow its boundary) and its library is a branch of Charlotte County Public Library, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Port Charlotte.
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.