Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Simsbury Center’s library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Simsbury Public Library serves 24,953 people in and around Simsbury Center. Last year it lent 473K books, movies and e-books and logged 316K visits.
The short version on Simsbury Center’s library
Simsbury Center uses its library more than almost any town its size
Simsbury Public Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 16 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 98% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Programs draw a crowd
37,000 people came to the library’s 1,131 programs last year: 1.5 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 96% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 17% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
The shelves work hard
Each of the 97,000 items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average. 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 Simsbury Center’s civic life grade
Simsbury Center 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 145 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Simsbury Public Library serves 24,953 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
473K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 97K books and other items on the shelves went out about 4 times last year, on average.
81,918 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 10 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
Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury.
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 Simsbury Center? 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 $3.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Simsbury Center cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M 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 14,156 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simsbury Center | Simsbury Public Library fine-free | 19.0 | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| West Simsbury | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Weatogue | None of its own | — | — | — 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.
- 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 Simsbury Center
Does Simsbury Center have a public library?
Yes. Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., serves 24,953 people in and around Simsbury Center (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Simsbury 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 Simsbury Center’s library?
It logged 12.6 visits and lent 19.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Simsbury Center’s civic life grade?
Simsbury Center 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 Simsbury Center.
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.