Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 3.0The Villages’ library is a branch of Sumter County Library System, which lends less per resident than 68% of systems its size
The Villages’s library is the The Villages Public Library at Belvedere, a branch of Sumter County Library System, which serves 148,967 people and lent 340K items last year.
The Villages’s library, in brief
Few programs for a library this size
The Sumter County Library System offered 410 programs last year, 2.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 9. Kids & programs ↓
Programs lean toward adults
60% of the 410 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 116 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; The Villages’s library is a branch of Sumter County Library System, so they cover the whole system (148,967 people), not just the The Villages branch.
What’s behind The Villages’ civic life grade
The Villages 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 Sumter County Library System, 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 The Villages
The Villages is unincorporated, so its nonprofits aren’t counted: they file by mailing address, which doesn’t follow its boundary.
4.1%
4.1% of The Villages’ 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 The Villages’ residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Sumter County Library System serves 148,967 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sumter County Library System system. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
340K 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 The Villages’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
About 2 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
The Villages Public Library at Belvedere, 325 Belvedere Boulevard, The Villages.
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 $1.76 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average The Villages cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $3.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.4M 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 57,835 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Villages | The Villages Public Library at Belvedere | — | 51 | — unincorporated |
| Wildwood | The Villages Public Library at Pinellas Plaza | — | 55 | 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. The Villages Public Library at Belvedere is one branch of Sumter County Library System, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 148,967 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 The Villages
Does The Villages have a public library?
Yes: The Villages Public Library at Belvedere, 325 Belvedere Boulevard, is a branch of Sumter County Library System, which serves 148,967 people. The branch is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sumter County Library System fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is The Villages’ library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.3 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is The Villages’ civic life grade?
The Villages 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 Sumter County Library System, so there is no town figure for visits. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in The Villages.
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.