Thomas Lyman House · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Durham’s library lends 14 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Durham Public Library serves Durham’s 7,204 residents. Last year it lent 120K books, movies and e-books and logged 59K visits.
Durham’s library, in brief
Durham ranks 2nd in Connecticut for kids’ borrowing
Out of 123 Connecticut towns with a library of their own, Durham comes 2nd for children’s items borrowed per child. It’s also #4 for borrowing and #9 for library use. How it compares ↓
Durham uses its library more than almost any town its size
Durham Public Library logs 8.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 14 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 90% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 41% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 36 items per child in Durham last year. Kids & programs ↓
Durham out-borrows every town next door
At 17 loans per resident, Durham leads the ten towns here. The closest is Guilford, at 13. Libraries next door ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Durham Public Library charges late fines on some overdue items. Eight of the nine libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
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 Durham’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Durham is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #14 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
30 community nonprofits are registered in Durham
4.2 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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.2%
12.2% of Durham’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 Durham’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
120K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 52K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
16,028 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Durham Public Library serves 7,204 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Durham last year.
Find it
Durham Public Library, 7 Maple Ave., Durham.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Durham? 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 $2.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Durham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $686K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $686K 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 2,801 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Durham borrows the most per resident of the 10 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham | Durham Public Library | 16.6 | 57 | A |
| Guilford | Guilford Free Library | 13.2 | 61 | A |
| Madison | E.C. Scranton Memorial Library fine-free | 10.5 | 57 | A− |
| Wallingford | Wallingford Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 65 | B |
| Northford | Edward Smith Library fine-free | 8.0 | 54 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Branford | North Branford Library Department fine-free | 8.0 | 54 | B− |
| Killingworth | Killingworth Library fine-free | 6.9 | 49 | B+ |
| Middlefield | Levi E.Coe Library fine-free | 6.7 | 34 | B+ |
| Haddam | East Haddam Free Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 44 | B+ |
| Middletown | Russell Library fine-free | 5.5 | 60 | B− |
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 Durham
Does Durham have a public library?
Yes. Durham Public Library, 7 Maple Ave., serves Durham’s 7,204 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 57 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Durham 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 Durham’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 16.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Durham’s civic life grade?
A Durham is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on civic life, #14 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 Durham.
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.