Richard Mansfield House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Ansonia’s library lends 1.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Ansonia Library serves 19,008 people in and around Ansonia. Last year it lent 24K books, movies and e-books and logged 32K visits.
Ansonia’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
Ansonia’s library lends 1.3 items per resident. Each of the three neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Woodbridge at 17. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Ansonia Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
The library is a National Register landmark
Ansonia Library has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1985. Today’s library there has 19,252 square feet. The building ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people Ansonia Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% for its size. How it compares ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Ansonia Library holds 58,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. 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.
What’s behind Ansonia’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Ansonia is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #151 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Ansonia’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Ansonia Library spends $23 per resident, against a typical $43 for libraries its size, and its 2024 visits are an estimate from one typical week (the survey’s method for libraries that don’t count every visit).
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($64K–$107K) 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 →
42 community nonprofits are registered in Ansonia
2.2 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 (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.9%
4.9% of Ansonia’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.5% in the typical Connecticut 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 Ansonia’s residents live; 2022.
A National Register landmark since 1985
Ansonia Library, 53 South Cliff St., Ansonia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Ansonia? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Ansonia Library
Ansonia Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Aug 23, 1985. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. Its architecture is described as Richardsonian Romanesque.
The Ansonia Library is the public library serving Ansonia, Connecticut. It is located at 53 South Cliff, in an architecturally distinguished Richardsonian Romanesque building designed by Connecticut architect George Keller and completed in 1892 as a gift from Caroline Phelps Stokes. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 23, 1985.
More about the building →Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Ansonia Library serves 19,008 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
24K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 58K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
4,126 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 kids’ programs 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.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Ansonia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $444K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $435K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $444K 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 2,902 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Ansonia ranks 4th of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbridge | Woodbridge Town Library fine-free | 17.1 | 51 | A |
| Seymour | Seymour Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 41 | C |
| Derby | Derby Neck Library fine-free | 2.1 | 46 | C− |
| Ansonia | Ansonia Library fine-free | 1.3 | 47 | D |
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. Ansonia Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Ansonia
Does Ansonia have a public library?
Yes. Ansonia Library, 53 South Cliff St., serves 19,008 people in and around Ansonia (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ansonia Library 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 Ansonia’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 1.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Ansonia’s civic life grade?
D Ansonia is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #151 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Ansonia.
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. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.