Northwest Harwinton’s library lends 6.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Harwinton Public Library serves 5,612 people in and around Northwest Harwinton. Last year it lent 47K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
What Northwest Harwinton’s library is like
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Harwinton Public Library is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Harwinton Public Library serves more than Northwest Harwinton
The library’s service area covers 5,612 people in and around Northwest Harwinton, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. 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 Northwest Harwinton’s civic life grade
Northwest Harwinton 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Harwinton Public Library serves 5,612 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
47K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
8,958 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Harwinton Public Library, 80 Bentley Drive, Harwinton.
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 Northwest Harwinton? 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 $2.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northwest Harwinton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $252K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $730K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $252K 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 2,466 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Northwest Harwinton 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+ |
| Northwest Harwinton | Harwinton Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 46 | — graded as part of its town |
| Harwinton | Harwinton Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 46 | A− |
| New Hartford | Licia&mason Beekley Community Library fine-free | 7.1 | 47 | B+ |
| Torrington | Torrington Library Association fine-free | 1.9 | 49 | 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 Northwest Harwinton
Does Northwest Harwinton have a public library?
Yes. Harwinton Public Library, 80 Bentley Drive, serves 5,612 people in and around Northwest Harwinton (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Harwinton 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 Northwest Harwinton’s library?
It logged 4.2 visits and lent 8.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Northwest Harwinton’s civic life grade?
Northwest Harwinton 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 Northwest Harwinton.
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.