Marion County Public Library System
Marion County Public Library System is a county public library system based in Ocala (Marion County), Florida, serving a legal service area of 413,951 residents through nine library buildings. By population served it is the 17th-largest of the 62 profiled systems in Florida.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 48% fewer physical checkouts per resident and 40% less operating spending per resident.
Marion County against the 122 systems of its size class
Marion County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 576,809
- Physical checkouts
- 759,899
- Registered users
- 237,772
- Program sessions
- 2,761
- Program attendance
- 62,376
- Print volumes
- 532,133
- Audio items (physical)
- 24,169
- Video items (physical)
- 26,550
- Public computers
- 236
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 20,177
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 107.1
- Operating spending
- $9 million
- …on books and other materials
- $672,329
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Marion County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $9 million, or $21.72 per resident. The local-government share sits 3 percentage points above 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)
Marion County since FY 2019
Visits were 38% below the FY 2019 count of 929,991 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 2% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Marion County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 46% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 23 people each.
County libraries of similar size in other states
All six of these systems record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Howard County Library System in Maryland.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henrico County Public Library | Henrico, VA | 336,226 | 4.22 | 7.36 | $67.13 |
| Howard County Library System | Ellicott City, MD | 334,529 | 4.70 | 12.51 | $89.12 |
| Durham County Library | Durham, NC | 334,350 | 1.50 | 6.70 | $41.93 |
| Spartanburg County Public Library System | Spartanburg, SC | 327,997 | 2.88 | 4.54 | $52.71 |
| Camden County Library | Voorhees, NJ | 324,221 | 1.45 | 1.73 | $33.51 |
| Lexington Public Library | Lexington, KY | 320,154 | 3.12 | 10.71 | $54.12 |
Marion County, building by building
The nine buildings cover 117,519 square feet in total, 0.28 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Marion County Public Library Headquarters-Ocala at 59,700 square feet; the smallest is Marion Oaks Public Library at 800. The longest hours are at Marion County Public Library Headquarters-Ocala, 49.6 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County Public Library Headquarters-Ocala | Central library | Ocala | 49.6 | 59,700 |
| Belleview Public Library | Branch | Belleview | 49.3 | 16,000 |
| Dunnellon Library | Branch | Dunnellon | 48.9 | 16,000 |
| Forest Public Library | Branch | Ocklawaha | 44.1 | 10,780 |
| Fort McCoy Public Library | Branch | Ft. McCoy | 29.3 | 2,520 |
| Freedom Public Library | Branch | Ocala | 48.9 | 8,223 |
| Marion Oaks Public Library | Branch | Ocala | 44.1 | 800 |
| Reddick Public Library | Branch | Reddick | 29.6 | 2,496 |
| Sankofa Public Library | Branch | Ocala | 44.3 | 1,000 |
Nearest in size within Florida
- PAL Public Library Cooperative · Bronson · 416,905 residents
- Collier County Public Library · Naples · 408,363 residents
- Lake County Library System · Tavares · 432,796 residents
- St. Lucie County Library System · Fort Pierce · 385,605 residents