Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Washington’s library logs 8 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Gunn Memorial Library serves Washington’s 3,685 residents. Last year it lent 31K books, movies and e-books and logged 29K visits.
The short version on Washington’s library
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
67% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 33%. What your card is worth ↓
Top 10% in Connecticut for library use
Washington ranks #10 of 123 Connecticut towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 8 visits per resident, more than at 89% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Washington invests in its library
Gunn Memorial Library spends $152 per resident a year, about four times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Programs draw a crowd
5,521 people came to the library’s 215 programs last year: 1.5 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 90% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A place to get online
Gunn Memorial Library logs about 45 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 12 public computers. That’s 4.5 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Washington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Washington is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #7 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Washington’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
53 community nonprofits are registered in Washington
14.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.0%
9.0% of Washington’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 Washington’s residents live; 2022.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Washington last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Gunn Memorial Library serves 3,685 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
31K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 44K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
5,312 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Gunn Memorial Library, 5 Wykeham Rd., Washington.
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 Washington? 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 $1.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Washington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $560K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $580K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $560K 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 1,443 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Washington ranks 4th of 8 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+ |
| Woodbury | Woodbury Public Library fine-free | 11.8 | 52 | A |
| Morris | Morris Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 38 | B+ |
| Washington | Gunn Memorial Library fine-free | 8.5 | 37 | A |
| Roxbury | Minor Memorial Library fine-free | 7.4 | 30 | A+ |
| Kent | Kent Library Association fine-free | 6.8 | 45 | A+ |
| Warren | Warren Public Library fine-free | 4.9 | 27 | A− |
| New Milford | New Milford Public Library | 4.7 | 45 | C+ |
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Public Library | — | — | A+ |
| New Preston | 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 Washington
Does Washington have a public library?
Yes. Gunn Memorial Library, 5 Wykeham Rd., serves Washington’s 3,685 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 37 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Gunn 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 Washington’s library?
It logged 8.0 visits and lent 8.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Washington’s civic life grade?
A Washington is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life, #7 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 Washington.
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.