Lee County Library System
Lee County Library System is a county public library system based in Fort Myers (Lee County), Florida, serving a legal service area of 779,221 residents through 14 library buildings. Among the 62 profiled systems in Florida, it ranks eighth for operating spending, ninth for population served, ninth for physical checkouts and tenth for total visits.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 36% fewer print volumes per resident and 25% fewer paid staff per resident.
Lee County against the 61 systems of its size class
Lee County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,426,515
- Physical checkouts
- 2,711,484
- Registered users
- 289,240
- Program sessions
- 3,337
- Program attendance
- 109,554
- Print volumes
- 618,362
- Audio items (physical)
- 33,525
- Video items (physical)
- 153,738
- Public computers
- 585
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 32,805
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 239.0
- Operating spending
- $37.3 million
- …on books and other materials
- $4.2 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Lee County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $53.7 million, or $68.92 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 62 profiled systems in Florida. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
County libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, five record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Cuyahoga County Public Library in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dekalb County Public Library | Decatur, GA | 768,134 | 2.08 | 2.44 | $38.11 |
| Montgomery County Memorial Library System | Conroe, TX | 705,126 | 1.12 | 3.44 | $16.91 |
| Tulsa City-County Library System | Tulsa, OK | 682,868 | 2.72 | 8.14 | $48.73 |
| Ocean County Library | Toms River, NJ | 636,202 | 2.42 | 5.05 | $73.32 |
| Cuyahoga County Public Library | Parma, OH | 626,288 | 6.26 | 11.75 | $119.50 |
| Anne Arundel County Public Library | Annapolis, MD | 590,336 | 2.69 | 6.31 | $56.80 |
Lee County since FY 2019
Visits were 26% below the FY 2019 count of 1.9 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 37% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Lee County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 64% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 33 people each.
Lee County, building by building
The 14 buildings cover 316,738 square feet in total, 0.41 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Fort Myers Regional Library at 41,288 square feet; the smallest is Talking Books Library at 1,235. The longest hours, 55.9 a week, are shared by four buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonita Springs Public Library | Branch | Bonita Springs | 45.9 | 30,883 |
| Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library | Branch | Cape Coral | 55.9 | 39,632 |
| Captiva Memorial Library | Branch | Captiva | 22 | 8,713 |
| Dunbar-Jupiter Hammon Library | Branch | Fort Myers | 39.1 | 9,801 |
| East County Regional Library | Branch | Lehigh Acres | 55.9 | 31,469 |
| Fort Myers Regional Library | Branch | Fort Myers | 55.9 | 41,288 |
| Johann Fust Community Library | Branch | Boca Grande | 39.2 | 2,466 |
| Lakes Regional Library | Branch | Fort Myers | 55.9 | 38,186 |
| North Fort Myers Public Library | Branch | North Fort Myers | 46.3 | 26,013 |
| Northwest Regional Library | Branch | Cape Coral | 46.4 | 40,246 |
| Pine Island Public Library | Branch | Bokeelia | 39 | 7,213 |
| Riverdale Public Library | Branch | Fort Myers | 38.8 | 7,250 |
| South County Regional Library | Branch | Estero | 55.5 | 32,343 |
| Talking Books Library | Branch | Fort Myers | 38.6 | 1,235 |
Nearest in size within Florida
- Polk County Library Cooperative · Bartow · 822,769 residents
- Brevard County Library System · Cocoa · 653,548 residents
- Pinellas Public Library Cooperative · Clearwater · 946,776 residents
- Pasco County Public Library Cooperative · Hudson · 634,768 residents