Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Deep River’s library logs 4.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Deep River Public Library serves Deep River’s 4,454 residents. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 19K visits.
What’s behind Deep River’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Deep River is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #32 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Deep River’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
28 community nonprofits are registered in Deep River
6.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (7 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Deep River’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 Deep River’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Deep River Public Library serves 4,454 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
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
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
5,884 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 Deep River last year.
Find it
Deep River Public Library, 150 Main St., Deep River.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Deep River? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.20 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Deep River cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $290K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $348K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $290K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,591 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Deep River ranks 5th of 8 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex | Essex Library Association fine-free | 9.7 | 53 | A |
| Essex Village | Essex Library Association fine-free | 9.7 | 53 | — graded as part of its town |
| Lyme | Lyme Public Library fine-free | 7.9 | 60 | B |
| Westbrook | Westbrook Public Library fine-free | 7.0 | 46 | B |
| 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Deep River
Does Deep River have a public library?
Yes. Deep River Public Library, 150 Main St., serves Deep River’s 4,454 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 42 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Deep River Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Deep River’s library?
It logged 4.3 visits and lent 4.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Deep River’s civic life grade?
A− Deep River is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on civic life, #32 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 Deep River.
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.