Villa Bella Vista · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ. M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Chester’s library runs 46 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Chester Public Library serves Chester’s 3,761 residents. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,238 visits.
What stands out about Chester’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Chester’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Chester is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #88 of 155 in Connecticut. Chester’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
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 →
24 community nonprofits are registered in Chester
6.3 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 (0 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of Chester’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 Chester’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Chester Public Library serves 3,761 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
5,344 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Chester last year.
Find it
Chester Public Library, 21 West Main Street, Chester.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chester? 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 Chester cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $240K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $239K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $240K 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 1,388 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Chester ranks 6th of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyme | Lyme Public Library fine-free | 7.9 | 60 | B |
| Haddam | East Haddam Free Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 44 | B+ |
| East Haddam | East Haddam Free Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 44 | A+ |
| Deep River | Deep River Public Library | 4.7 | 42 | A− |
| Deep River Center | Deep River Public Library | 4.7 | 42 | — graded as part of its town |
| Chester | Chester Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 42 | B− |
| Chester Center | Chester Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 42 | — graded as part of its town |
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. Chester Public 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 Chester
Does Chester have a public library?
Yes. Chester Public Library, 21 West Main Street, serves Chester’s 3,761 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Chester Public 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 Chester’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 3.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Chester’s civic life grade?
B− Chester is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on civic life, #88 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 Chester.
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.