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Windsor Locks Canal Company by Elias FriedmanPhoto: Elipongo · Public domain
Windsor Locks Public Library

Windsor Locks’ library runs 18 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size

Windsor Locks Public Library serves Windsor Locks’s 12,529 residents. Last year it lent 64K books, movies and e-books and logged 33K visits.

28 Main St., Windsor Locks 06096 · about 48 hours a week
C+Civic lifeAhead of 44% of U.S. towns · #101 of 155 in Connecticut. Library visits, nonprofits and volunteering.
Borrowed a year
64K
5.1 per resident
Visits a year
33K
2.6 per resident · Below typical (3.1)
Programs & events
224
about 4 a week · 3,546 attended
Cardholders
21%
2,638 cards
Open
48 hrs
a week

What stands out about Windsor Locks’s library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

Civic life grade

What’s behind Windsor Locks’ civic life grade

On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Windsor Locks is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns, #101 of 155 in Connecticut. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Windsor Locks’ count of community nonprofits pulls it down.

C+
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Windsor Locks’ overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (17,556)Ahead of 44%
FewerMore
Connecticut towns we grade (155)Ahead of 35%
U.S. towns with similar incomes, $61K–$102K (9,093)Ahead of 43%

Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($61K–$102K) 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.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The volunteering share is a 2022 estimate from Facebook users aged 25–44.

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 →

Places to belong

36 community nonprofits are registered in Windsor Locks

2.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.

Community nonprofits, by kind

Arts & culture30.24 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.24
Youth, sports & recreation40.32 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.52
Civic groups, clubs & veterans110.87 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.74
Human services70.56 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.59
Education10.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.43
Health20.16 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.16
Environment & animals10.08 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.17
Other70.56 per 1,000 · U.S. towns 0.47

Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (13 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.

Volunteering

9.6%

9.6% of Windsor Locks’ 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 Windsor Locks’ residents live; 2022.

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 8 measures

Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.

Visits per resident 2.6 visits · typical 3.1Lower than 58%
Borrowing per resident 4.2 print items · typical 3.9Higher than 54%
Digital borrowing 0.9 e-items · typical 1.1Lower than 58%
Kids’ borrowing 1.3 kids’ items · typical 1.8Lower than 63%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.4Lower than 68%
Programs offered 17.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 24Lower than 64%
Cardholders 21% of residents · typical 40%Lower than 85%
Spending $40 per resident · typical $43Lower than 55%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Ranked in CT#91Most-used librariesof 123 towns
#88Most library borrowingof 123 towns
#106Best libraries for kidsof 123 towns
Size group

Windsor Locks Public Library serves 12,529 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 26 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

33K
visits
2.6 per resident
64K
loans, print + digital
5.1 per resident
224
programs & events
3,546 attended
2,638
library cards
21% of people served
Every open hour26items borrowed
Every week68people at a program
Every week631visits
6 staff (full-time equivalent)6 public computers55K books & media on the shelves
What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

64K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

64Kloans
Books & media (adults) 59%Kids’ books & media 25%E-books, audio & streaming 17%
How hard the shelves work
1×

Each of the 55K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.

From your couch

10,754 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Windsor Locks →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–553
Ages 6–1167
Teens15
Adults82
All ages7
Little ones
1

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

Kids’ books
7

children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Windsor Locks last year.

3,546
people at programs
224
programs
The building

Find it

Windsor Locks Public Library, 28 Main St., Windsor Locks.

48
hours open a week
12,500
square feet
55K
books & media
With a card

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 Windsor Locks? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.04 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Windsor Locks cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$204
a year at retail prices · $17 a month

Who pays for it
$40 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $501K.

Local taxes 95%State 1%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $501K 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 2,638 cardholders ÷ 12.

Next door

Libraries next door

Windsor Locks ranks 4th of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHoursCivic life
WindsorWindsor Public Library6.858B
SuffieldKent Memorial Library6.352B+
East GranbyEast Granby Public Library fine-free6.046A
Windsor LocksWindsor Locks Public Library fine-free5.148C+
EnfieldEnfield Public Library fine-free4.960C−
East WindsorLibrary Association of Warehouse Point3.146B

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).

How to read these numbers

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 Windsor Locks

Does Windsor Locks have a public library?

Yes. Windsor Locks Public Library, 28 Main St., serves Windsor Locks’ 12,529 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 48 hours a week, averaged over the year.

Is Windsor Locks Public 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 Windsor Locks’ library?

It logged 2.6 visits and lent 5.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.

What is Windsor Locks’ civic life grade?

C+ Windsor Locks is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on civic life, #101 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 Windsor Locks.

Town Square →
Start a conversation

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.