Polk County Library Cooperative
Polk County Library Cooperative is a multi-jurisdictional public library system based in Bartow (Polk County), Florida, serving a legal service area of 822,769 residents through 18 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among profiled systems serving 500,000 to 999,999 residents, it ranks seventh for local government's share of operating revenue, but ranks fourth-lowest for library floor space per resident and fifth-lowest for paid staff per resident.
Among the 62 profiled systems in Florida, it ranks eighth for population served and ninth for total visits, but ranks second-lowest for public computers per resident. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 38% of the operating spending per resident and 44% fewer physical checkouts per resident.
Polk County against the 61 systems of its size class
Polk County, building by building
The 18 buildings cover 201,567 square feet in total, 0.24 square feet per resident against a median of 0.45 for the size class. The largest building is Lakeland Public Library at 39,174 square feet; the smallest is Polk County Library Cooperative Office at 1,062. The longest hours are at Bartow Public Library, 58.1 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburndale Public Library | Branch | Auburndale | 51.1 | 12,421 |
| Bartow Public Library | Branch | Bartow | 58.1 | 21,360 |
| Dundee Public Library | Branch | Dundee | 44 | 1,340 |
| Eagle Lake Public Library | Branch | Eagle Lake | 40 | 3,300 |
| Express Library-South Lakeland | Branch | Lakeland | – | 4,525 |
| Fort Meade Public Library | Branch | Fort Meade | – | 2,356 |
| Haines City Public Library | Branch | Haines City | 45 | 22,000 |
| Lake Alfred Public Library | Branch | Lake Alfred | 51 | 6,000 |
| Lake Wales Public Library | Branch | Lake Wales | 49.6 | 19,700 |
| Lakeland Public Library | Branch | Lakeland | 57.1 | 39,174 |
| Larry R. Jackson Branch Library | Branch | Lakeland | 53.8 | 13,144 |
| Latt Maxcy Memorial Library | Branch | Frostproof | 40 | 5,935 |
| Mulberry Public Library | Branch | Mulberry | 53 | 5,300 |
| Polk City Municipal Library | Branch | Polk City | 40 | 1,850 |
| Polk County Historical and Genealogical Library | Branch | Bartow | 39.4 | 2,000 |
| Polk County Law Library/Justice Steven H. Grimes Law Library | Branch | Bartow | – | 8,600 |
| Polk County Library Cooperative Office | Branch | Bartow | – | 1,062 |
| Winter Haven Public Library/Kathryn L. Smith Memorial Library | Branch | Winter Haven | 50 | 31,500 |
| Cooperative Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Lakeland | – |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
Polk County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 1,555,747
- Physical checkouts
- 1,792,812
- Registered users
- 916,741
- Program sessions
- 5,026
- Program attendance
- 99,251
- Print volumes
- 574,289
- Audio items (physical)
- 25,516
- Video items (physical)
- 85,420
- Public computers
- 208
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 147.5
- Operating spending
- $14.9 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.7 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- charged
Where Polk County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $15.5 million, or $18.85 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 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)
Who comes to Polk County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 49% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 20 people each.
Nearest in size within Florida
- Lee County Library System · Fort Myers · 779,221 residents
- Pinellas Public Library Cooperative · Clearwater · 946,776 residents
- Palm Beach County Library System · West Palm Beach · 1,007,170 residents
- Brevard County Library System · Cocoa · 653,548 residents
Closest in size nationwide
All six of these systems record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library in Ohio.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Public Library | San Francisco, CA | 843,071 | 4.72 | 8.94 | $199.24 |
| Mid-Continent Public Library | Independence, MO | 840,292 | 2.96 | 5.99 | $82.29 |
| Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library | Cincinnati, OH | 830,639 | 4.93 | 15.34 | $87.83 |
| Sno-Isle Libraries | Marysville, WA | 819,554 | 2.99 | 6.94 | $74.67 |
| Metropolitan Library System | Oklahoma City, OK | 808,866 | 2.31 | 6.45 | $59.93 |
| Multnomah County Library | Portland, OR | 802,464 | 2.19 | 12.35 | $121.00 |