Photo: StarkeDCD · CC BY-SA 4.0Starke’s library is a branch of New River Public Library Cooperative, which lends less per resident than 85% of systems its size
Starke’s library is the Bradford County Public Library, a branch of New River Public Library Cooperative, which serves 64,798 people and lent 78K items last year.
Starke’s library, in brief
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
64,001 cards for 64,798 people, or 99%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
Florida pays a big share
46% of the budget comes from the state, and 52% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few programs for a library this size
The New River Public Library Cooperative system offered 358 programs last year, 5.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 14. 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; Starke’s library is a branch of New River Public Library Cooperative, so they cover the whole system (64,798 people), not just the Starke branch.
What’s behind Starke’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Starke is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns, #168 of 273 in Florida. Starke is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($39K–$65K) 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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Starke
2.2 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 (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.5%
6.5% of Starke’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 Starke’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
New River Public Library Cooperative serves 64,798 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole New River Public Library Cooperative system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
78K 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 Starke’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 3 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
Bradford County Public Library, 456 West Pratt St., Starke.
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 Starke cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 64,001 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. Bradford County Public Library is one branch of New River Public Library Cooperative, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 64,798 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 Starke
Does Starke have a public library?
Yes: Bradford County Public Library, 456 West Pratt St., is a branch of New River Public Library Cooperative, which serves 64,798 people. The branch is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is New River Public Library Cooperative fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Starke’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Starke’s civic life grade?
C− Starke is ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on civic life, #168 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 Starke.
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.