Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Morris’ library lends 8.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Morris Public Library serves Morris’s 2,272 residents. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 11K visits.
What stands out about Morris’s library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Morris’ civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Morris is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Morris
4.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.1%
8.1% of Morris’ 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 Morris’ residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 17K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
3,225 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 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Morris Public Library serves 2,272 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Morris last year.
Find it
Morris Public Library, 4 North St., Morris.
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 Morris? 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 $2.80 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Morris cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $138K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $387K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $138K 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 1,098 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Morris ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Litchfield | Oliver Wolcott Library fine-free | 14.9 | 48 | A+ |
| Morris | Morris Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 38 | B+ |
| Washington | Gunn Memorial Library fine-free | 8.5 | 37 | A |
| Thomaston | Thomaston Public Library fine-free | 4.7 | 51 | C+ |
| Watertown | Watertown Library Association fine-free | 2.3 | 40 | C− |
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Public Library | — | — | A+ |
| Bethlehem Village | Bethlehem Public Library | — | — | — 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Morris Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Morris
Does Morris have a public library?
Yes. Morris Public Library, 4 North St., serves Morris’ 2,272 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Morris 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 Morris’ library?
It logged 5.0 visits and lent 9.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Morris’ civic life grade?
B+ Morris is ahead of 69% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Morris.
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.