Photo: Florence Conventions and Visitors Bureau · CC BY-SA 4.0Florence’s library runs 19 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 9 for libraries its size
Florence County Library System serves 137,059 people in and around Florence. Last year it lent 165K print books and media and logged 203K visits.
The short version on Florence’s library
Programs draw a crowd
89,000 people came to the system’s 2,658 programs last year: 0.7 per resident, against a typical 0.2, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
73% of the 2,658 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 14 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Florence County Library System lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.2 for libraries serving 100,000+ people, fewer than 89% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Florence County Library System serves 137,059 people in and around Florence, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Florence’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Florence is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #37 of 102 in South Carolina. Florence is graded on two of the three inputs. Florence’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($42K–$70K) 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 →
218 community nonprofits are registered in Florence
5.4 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 (90 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 10 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
3.2%
3.2% of Florence’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 4.4% in the typical South Carolina 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 Florence’s residents live; 2022.
About 37 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 100,000+ people across the U.S.
Florence County Library System serves 137,059 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 100,000+.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Florence County Library System system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
165K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Florence County Library, 509 South Dargan Street, Florence.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Florence County Library System branch.
New in Florence? 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 Florence cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $36. Operating budget $5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5M 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 70,713 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florence | Florence County Library fine-free | — | 53 | C |
| Quinby | None of its own | — | — | — 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.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
- System-wide. Florence County Library System serves 137,059 people in and around Florence, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Florence.
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 Florence
Does Florence have a public library?
Yes. Florence County Library System, 509 South Dargan Street, serves 137,059 people in and around Florence (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Florence County Library System fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Florence’s library?
It logged 1.5 visits and lent 1.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.1 visits for libraries serving 100,000+ people.
What is Florence’s civic life grade?
C Florence is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on civic life, #37 of 102 in South Carolina. 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 Florence.
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.