Photo: JJBers · CC BY-SA 4.0East Hartford’s library lends 1.3 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
East Hartford Public Library serves East Hartford’s 50,654 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 84K books, movies and e-books and logged 95K visits.
East Hartford’s library, in brief
Every town next door borrows more
East Hartford’s library lends 1.7 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Manchester at 12. Libraries next door ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, East Hartford Public Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on five. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 18% of the people East Hartford Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
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 East Hartford’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Hartford is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns, #152 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; library visits come closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$88K) 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 →
117 community nonprofits are registered in East Hartford
2.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (48 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 12 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
4.2%
4.2% of East Hartford’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 Hartford’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
East Hartford Public Library serves 50,654 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
84K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 83K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
18,523 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 East Hartford last year.
2 places to borrow in East Hartford
East Hartford Public Library, 840 Main St., East Hartford.
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 Hartford? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in East Hartford
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Hartford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 9,292 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Hartford ranks 6th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | Manchester Public Library fine-free | 11.6 | 66 | C |
| Glastonbury | Welles-Turner Memorial Library fine-free | 11.0 | 64 | B− |
| Glastonbury Center | Welles-Turner Memorial Library fine-free | 11.0 | 64 | — graded as part of its town |
| South Windsor | South Windsor Public Library fine-free | 9.7 | 56 | C+ |
| Wethersfield | Wethersfield Public Library | 8.7 | 55 | C+ |
| East Hartford | East Hartford Public Library fine-free | 1.7 | 55 | D |
| Hartford | None of its own | — | — | C |
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 Hartford
Does East Hartford have a public library?
Yes. East Hartford Public Library, 840 Main St., serves East Hartford’s 50,654 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Hartford 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 Hartford’s library?
It logged 1.9 visits and lent 1.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is East Hartford’s civic life grade?
D East Hartford is ahead of 8% of U.S. towns on civic life, #152 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 Hartford.
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.