Photo: Tomticker5 · CC BY-SA 3.0Trumbull’s library logs 4.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Trumbull Library serves Trumbull’s 37,269 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 331K books, movies and e-books and logged 174K visits.
Trumbull’s library, in brief
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, Trumbull’s library system is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with five in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
Still charges late fines, unlike its neighbors
Trumbull’s library system charges late fines on some overdue items. Four of the six libraries in neighboring towns have dropped them. What your card is worth ↓
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 Trumbull’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Trumbull is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #43 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
152 community nonprofits are registered in Trumbull
4.1 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 (31 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 4 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Trumbull’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 Trumbull’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 66 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 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Trumbull Library serves 37,269 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
331K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 152K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.7 times last year, on average.
70,957 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 9 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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Trumbull last year.
2 places to borrow in Trumbull
Trumbull Library, 33 Quality St., Trumbull.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Trumbull? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Trumbull
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.60 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Trumbull cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.9M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 16,825 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Trumbull ranks 2nd of 7 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield | Fairfield Public Library | 11.0 | 56 | A− |
| Trumbull | Trumbull Library | 8.9 | 60 | B+ |
| Monroe | Edith Wheeler Memorial Library | 7.7 | 43 | B− |
| Easton | Easton Public Library fine-free | 7.7 | 45 | B+ |
| Stratford | Stratford Library Association fine-free | 5.8 | 57 | C− |
| Shelton | Plumb Memorial Library fine-free | 3.8 | 37 | C |
| Bridgeport | Bridgeport Public Library fine-free | 1.3 | 46 | D− |
| Trumbull Center | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Tashua | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Daniels Farm | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Stepney | 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 Trumbull
Does Trumbull have a public library?
Yes. Trumbull Library, 33 Quality St., serves Trumbull’s 37,269 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 60 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Trumbull Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Trumbull’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 8.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Trumbull’s civic life grade?
B+ Trumbull is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on civic life, #43 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 Trumbull.
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.