Photo: Victor-ny · CC BY-SA 3.0Groton’s library lends 1.9 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Bill Memorial Library serves 10,000 people in and around Groton. Last year it lent 21K books, movies and e-books and logged 18K visits.
The short version on Groton’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
81% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 18%. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 9% of the people Bill Memorial Library serves have a library card, against a typical 40% 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 Groton’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Groton is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #124 of 155 in Connecticut. Groton is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Groton’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($60K–$99K) 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 →
33 community nonprofits are registered in Groton
3.4 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.4%
6.4% of Groton’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 Groton’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Bill Memorial Library serves 10,000 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 8 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
21K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
2,648 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.
Find it
Bill Memorial Library, 240 Monument St., Groton.
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 Groton? 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 $1.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Groton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $343K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $367K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $343K 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 910 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New London | Public Library of New London fine-free | 2.3 | 51 | B− |
| Groton | Bill Memorial Library fine-free | 2.1 | 49 | C |
| Conning Towers-Nautilus Park | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Long Hill | None of its own | — | — | — 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 Groton
Does Groton have a public library?
Yes. Bill Memorial Library, 240 Monument St., serves 10,000 people in and around Groton (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bill Memorial 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 Groton’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Groton’s civic life grade?
C Groton is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #124 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 Groton.
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.