Photo: Doncram · CC BY-SA 3.0Torrington’s library lends 1.2 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
Torrington Library serves 35,550 people in and around Torrington. Last year it lent 67K books, movies and e-books and logged 56K visits.
Torrington’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
98% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 2%. What your card is worth ↓
Every town next door borrows more
Torrington’s library lends 1.9 items per resident. Each of the five neighboring towns with a library of its own lends more, led by Litchfield at 15. Libraries next door ↓
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 Torrington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Torrington is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns, #144 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Torrington’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$89K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
113 community nonprofits are registered in Torrington
3.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (35 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.0%
6.0% of Torrington’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 Torrington’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Torrington Library serves 35,550 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
67K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 54K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
25,001 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Torrington Library Association, 12 Daycoeton Place, Torrington.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Torrington? 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 $1.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Torrington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.1M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.1M 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 9,327 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Torrington ranks 6th of 6 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+ |
| Goshen | Goshen Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 47 | B+ |
| Torrington | Torrington Library Association fine-free | 1.9 | 49 | C− |
| Winchester | Beardsley & Memorial Library fine-free | — | 38 | B+ |
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 Torrington
Does Torrington have a public library?
Yes. Torrington Library, 12 Daycoeton Place, serves 35,550 people in and around Torrington (the survey’s count) and is open about 49 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Torrington 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 Torrington’s library?
It logged 1.6 visits and lent 1.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Torrington’s civic life grade?
C− Torrington is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns on civic life, #144 of 155 in Connecticut. 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 Torrington.
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.