Photo: Jessica Chesler · CC BY-SA 4.0Wilton Manors’ library logs 0.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors serves Wilton Manors’s 11,495 residents. Last year it lent 21K print books and media and logged 8,654 visits.
The short version on Wilton Manors’s library
More library cards than residents
13,873 cards for 11,495 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, it’s 40%. How it compares ↓
Well funded, but lightly used
Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors spends $76 per resident, more than 81% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 94% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 83 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1.1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors offered 83 programs last year, 7.2 per 1,000 residents against a typical 24. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors holds 36,000 books and other items, but the average item went out about once every two years last year. What people borrow ↓
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.
What’s behind Wilton Manors’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Wilton Manors is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns, #237 of 273 in Florida. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Wilton Manors’ count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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 →
26 community nonprofits are registered in Wilton Manors
2.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.0%
5.0% of Wilton Manors’ 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 Wilton Manors’ residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors serves 11,495 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
21K 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 Wilton Manors’ library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 36K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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
Richard C. Sullivan Public Library, 500 N.E. 26th Street, Wilton Manors.
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 Wilton Manors cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $868K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $375K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $868K 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 13,873 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilton Manors | Richard C. Sullivan Public Library | 1.9 | 41 | D− |
| Oakland Park | Ethel M. Gordon Oakland Park Library fine-free | 0.5 | 52 | C− |
| Fort Lauderdale | Broward County Main Library fine-free | — | 46 | C+ |
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.
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 Wilton Manors
Does Wilton Manors have a public library?
Yes. Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors, 500 N.E. 26th Street, serves Wilton Manors’ 11,495 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Richard C. Sullivan Public Library of Wilton Manors fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Wilton Manors’ library?
It logged 0.8 visits and lent 1.9 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Wilton Manors’ civic life grade?
D− Wilton Manors is ahead of 5% of U.S. towns on civic life, #237 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 Wilton Manors.
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.