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Bidwell Tavern, Coventry CTPhoto: Jerry Dougherty · CC BY 2.5
Booth & Dimock Memorial Library

South Coventry’s library lends 5.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size

Booth & Dimock Memorial Library serves 12,308 people in and around South Coventry. Last year it lent 74K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.

1134 Main St., Coventry 06238 · about 43 hours a week
–Civic lifeNot graded: fewer than 1,000 residents
Borrowed a year
74K
6 per resident
Visits a year
27K
2.2 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
178
about 3 a week · 4,543 attended
Cardholders
25%
3,088 cards
Open
43 hrs
a week

What stands out about South Coventry’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind South Coventry’s civic life grade

South Coventry isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of South Coventry’s overall grade.

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 →

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.2 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 66%
Borrowing per resident 5.2 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 64%
Digital borrowing 0.8 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 59%
Kids’ borrowing 2.5 kids’ items · typical 1.8Higher than 66%
Program attendance 0.4 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 57%
Programs offered 14.5 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 73%
Cardholders 25% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 78%
Spending $48 per resident · typical $43Higher than 56%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Booth & Dimock Memorial Library serves 12,308 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 43 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

27K
visits
2.2 per resident
74K
loans, print + digital
6 per resident
178
programs & events
4,543 attended
3,088
library cards
25% of people served
Every open hour43items borrowed
Every week87people at a program
Every day52Wi-Fi sessions
7 staff (full-time equivalent)12 public computers46K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

74K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

74Kloans
Books & media (adults) 44%Kids’ books & media 42%E-books, audio & streaming 14%
How hard the shelves work
1.4×

Each of the 46K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.

From your couch

10,370 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in South Coventry →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–569
Ages 6–1139
Teens18
Adults41
All ages11
Little ones
1.3

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

31K
kids’ books & media borrowed
4,543
people at programs
178
programs
The building

Find it

Booth & Dimock Memorial Library, 1134 Main St., Coventry.

43
hours open a week
14,443
square feet
46K
books & media
With a card

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 South Coventry? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.00 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average South Coventry cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
1
Your card saves you about
$384
a year at retail prices · $32 a month

Who pays for it
$48 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $591K.

Local taxes 98%State 0%Gifts & other 2%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $591K 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 3,088 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

Coventry Lake: no library of its ownCoventry LakeSouth Coventry
12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
South CoventryBooth & Dimock Memorial Library fine-free6.043— graded as part of its town
Coventry LakeNone 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).

How to read these numbers

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 South Coventry

Does South Coventry have a public library?

Yes. Booth & Dimock Memorial Library, 1134 Main St., serves 12,308 people in and around South Coventry (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Booth & Dimock 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 South Coventry’s library?

It logged 2.2 visits and lent 6.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is South Coventry’s civic life grade?

South Coventry 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 South Coventry.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.