Photo: Carol M. Highsmith · Public domainEast Haddam’s library logs 2.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
East Haddam Free Public Library serves 8,987 people in and around East Haddam from 2 locations. Last year it lent 60K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
What stands out about East Haddam’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind East Haddam’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, East Haddam is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #2 of 155 in Connecticut. East Haddam is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups 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 →
62 community nonprofits are registered in East Haddam
7.0 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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
12.7%
12.7% of East Haddam’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 East Haddam’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
60K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 34K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
22,419 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 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
East Haddam Free Public Library serves 8,987 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 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.
2 places to borrow in East Haddam
East Haddam Free Public Library, 18 Plains Rd., East Haddam.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in East Haddam? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in East Haddam
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Haddam cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $485K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $923K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $485K 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 2,903 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Haddam ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester | Cragin Memorial Library | 9.3 | 49 | B+ |
| East Hampton | East Hampton Public Library fine-free | 8.2 | 49 | A− |
| Lyme | Lyme Public Library fine-free | 7.9 | 60 | B |
| East Haddam | East Haddam Free Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 44 | A+ |
| Haddam | East Haddam Free Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 44 | B+ |
| Chester | Chester Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 42 | B− |
| Salem | Salem Free Public Library | — | 40 | 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 East Haddam
Does East Haddam have a public library?
Yes. East Haddam Free Public Library, 18 Plains Rd., serves 8,987 people in and around East Haddam (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Haddam Free 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 East Haddam’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is East Haddam’s civic life grade?
A+ East Haddam is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 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 East Haddam.
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.