Photo: Pi.1415926535 · CC BY-SA 3.0Stonington’s library runs 15 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Stonington Free Library serves 18,431 people in and around Stonington. Last year it lent 59K books, movies and e-books and logged 49K visits.
Stonington’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
68% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 31%. What your card is worth ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, Stonington Free Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Stonington Free Library serves more than Stonington
The library’s service area covers 18,431 people in and around Stonington, 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 Stonington’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Stonington is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Stonington is graded on two of the three inputs. Stonington’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Stonington
10.2 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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.8%
6.8% of Stonington’s 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 Stonington’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Stonington Free Library serves 18,431 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
59K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 32K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.4 time last year, on average.
14,045 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
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.
Find it
Stonington Free Library, 20 High St., Stonington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting.
New in Stonington? 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 $1.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Stonington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $756K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $756K 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 3,912 cardholders ÷ 12.
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 Stonington
Does Stonington have a public library?
Yes. Stonington Free Library, 20 High St., serves 18,431 people in and around Stonington (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Stonington Free Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Stonington’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Stonington’s civic life grade?
A− Stonington is ahead of 76% 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 Stonington.
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.