Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Kensington’s library lends 8.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Berlin-Peck Memorial Library serves 20,429 people in and around Kensington. Last year it lent 201K books, movies and e-books and logged 81K visits.
The short version on Kensington’s library
Berlin-Peck Memorial Library serves more than Kensington
The library’s service area covers 20,429 people in and around Kensington, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Programs lean toward adults
54% of the 396 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 132 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Kensington’s civic life grade
Kensington isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Berlin-Peck Memorial Library serves 20,429 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 73 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
201K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 92K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
33,049 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in Kensington
Berlin-Peck Memorial Library, 234 Kensington Road, Berlin.
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 Kensington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Kensington
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.22 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Kensington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 6,579 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Kensington borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | Berlin-Peck Memorial Library fine-free | 9.9 | 53 | — graded as part of its town |
| Berlin | Berlin-Peck Memorial Library fine-free | 9.9 | 53 | C |
| New Britain | New Britain Public Library fine-free | 3.4 | 57 | D |
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 Kensington
Does Kensington have a public library?
Yes. Berlin-Peck Memorial Library, 234 Kensington Road, serves 20,429 people in and around Kensington (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Berlin-Peck 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 Kensington’s library?
It logged 4.0 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Kensington’s civic life grade?
Kensington isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Kensington.
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.