Wilton Center’s library logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Wilton Library Association serves 18,400 people in and around Wilton Center. Last year it lent 233K books, movies and e-books and logged 215K visits.
The short version on Wilton Center’s library
Wilton Center uses its library more than almost any town its size
Wilton Library Association logs 12 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 9.2 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
30,000 people came to the library’s 910 programs last year: 1.6 per resident, against a typical 0.4, more than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Wilton Center invests in its library
Wilton Library Association spends $203 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 54% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 89% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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 Wilton Center’s civic life grade
Wilton Center isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Wilton Library Association serves 18,400 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 82 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
233K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 127K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.3 time last year, on average.
63,861 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Wilton Library Association, 137 Old Ridgefield Rd., Wilton.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Wilton Center? 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 Wilton Center cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.7M 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 8,283 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilton Center | Wilton Library Association | 12.7 | 55 | — graded as part of its town |
| South Wilton | 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 Wilton Center
Does Wilton Center have a public library?
Yes. Wilton Library Association, 137 Old Ridgefield Rd., serves 18,400 people in and around Wilton Center (the survey’s count) and is open about 55 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wilton Library Association 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 Wilton Center’s library?
It logged 11.7 visits and lent 12.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Wilton Center’s civic life grade?
Wilton Center 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 Wilton Center.
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.