Photo: Ramiska · CC BY-SA 4.0Woodbury’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Woodbury Public Library serves Woodbury’s 9,862 residents. Last year it lent 116K books, movies and e-books and logged 71K visits.
The short version on Woodbury’s library
Woodbury uses its library more than almost any town its size
Woodbury Public Library logs 7.2 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 40% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Woodbury last year. 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 Woodbury’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Woodbury is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #9 of 155 in Connecticut. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
57 community nonprofits are registered in Woodbury
5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.6%
10.6% of Woodbury’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 Woodbury’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
116K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 96K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1 time last year, on average.
15,475 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Woodbury Public Library serves 9,862 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 43 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
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.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Woodbury last year.
Find it
Woodbury Public Library, 269 Main Street South, Woodbury.
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 Woodbury? 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 $2.65 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Woodbury cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $710K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $710K 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 4,275 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Woodbury ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southbury | Southbury Public Library | 12.8 | 59 | B+ |
| Woodbury | Woodbury Public Library fine-free | 11.8 | 52 | A |
| Washington | Gunn Memorial Library fine-free | 8.5 | 37 | A |
| Roxbury | Minor Memorial Library fine-free | 7.4 | 30 | A+ |
| Middlebury | Middlebury Public Library | 5.5 | 41 | C+ |
| Watertown | Watertown Library Association fine-free | 2.3 | 40 | C− |
| Bethlehem | Bethlehem Public Library | — | — | A+ |
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 Woodbury
Does Woodbury have a public library?
Yes. Woodbury Public Library, 269 Main Street South, serves Woodbury’s 9,862 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Woodbury 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 Woodbury’s library?
It logged 7.2 visits and lent 11.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Woodbury’s civic life grade?
A Woodbury is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life, #9 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 Woodbury.
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.