Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 4.0Moodus’ 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 Moodus. Last year it lent 60K books, movies and e-books and logged 25K visits.
Moodus’s library, in brief
East Haddam Free Public Library serves more than Moodus
The library’s service area covers 8,987 people in and around Moodus, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 38% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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 Moodus’ civic life grade
Moodus 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 →
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.
Find it
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 Moodus? 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 $1.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Moodus 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.
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 Moodus
Does Moodus have a public library?
Yes. East Haddam Free Public Library, 18 Plains Rd., serves 8,987 people in and around Moodus (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 Moodus’ 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 Moodus’ civic life grade?
Moodus 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 Moodus.
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.