Old Greenwich’s library lends 2.1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Perrot Memorial Library serves 63,574 people in and around Old Greenwich. Last year it lent 133K books, movies and e-books and logged 111K visits.
The short version on Old Greenwich’s library
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Perrot Memorial Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on four. How it compares ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 8% of the people Perrot Memorial Library serves have a library card, against a typical 39% for its size. How it compares ↓
Perrot Memorial Library serves more than Old Greenwich
The library’s service area covers 63,574 people in and around Old Greenwich, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
Most programs are for young children
69% of the 634 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 6.6 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 59% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is lower than at 62% of similar-size libraries, so the high share mostly reflects light borrowing by adults. 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 Old Greenwich’s civic life grade
Old Greenwich 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Perrot Memorial Library serves 63,574 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 44 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
133K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 56K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 8 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
Perrot Memorial Library, 90 Sound Beach Ave., Greenwich.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Old Greenwich? 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 $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Old Greenwich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2M 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 4,849 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Old Greenwich ranks 3rd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
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 Old Greenwich
Does Old Greenwich have a public library?
Yes. Perrot Memorial Library, 90 Sound Beach Ave., serves 63,574 people in and around Old Greenwich (the survey’s count) and is open about 59 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Perrot 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 Old Greenwich’s library?
It logged 1.8 visits and lent 2.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Old Greenwich’s civic life grade?
Old Greenwich 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 Old Greenwich.
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.