Hoosac Tunnel · Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Florida’s library runs 239 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Florida Public Library serves Florida’s 681 residents. Last year it lent 1,692 print books and media and logged 2,000 visits.
Florida’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Florida Public Library ran 163 programs last year, about 3 a week. That’s 239 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Florida Public Library serves 681 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 28 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 77% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 61% of similar-size libraries. 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Florida’s civic life grade
Florida isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 2 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Florida Public Library serves 681 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 1 item goes out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,692 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 11K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Find it
Florida Public Library, 56 North County Road, Florida.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Florida? The Handbook →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 Florida cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $30K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $26K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $30K 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 313 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Florida ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rowe | Rowe Town Library fine-free | 19.4 | 23 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Clarksburg | Clarksburg Town Library fine-free | 6.2 | 27 | C+ |
| Florida | Florida Public Library fine-free | 2.5 | 28 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Charlemont | Tyler Memorial Library fine-free | 1.5 | 12 | A+ |
| Savoy | Savoy Hollow Library | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Monroe | Monroe Public Library | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Florida Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- Digital loans not reported. Massachusetts libraries often don’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 Florida
Does Florida have a public library?
Yes. Florida Public Library, 56 North County Road, serves Florida’s 681 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 28 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Florida Public Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Florida’s library?
It logged 2.9 visits and lent 2.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Florida’s civic life grade?
Florida isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Florida.
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.