Long Island School · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Long Island’s library runs 545 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Long Island Community Library serves Long Island’s 134 residents. Last year it lent 1,549 books, movies and e-books and logged 1,061 visits.
The short version on Long Island’s library
Nine times the programs of a typical library its size
Long Island Community Library ran 73 programs last year, about 1 a week. That’s 545 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 1,134 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kansas pays a big share
53% of the budget comes from the state, and 41% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Open only about 13 hours a week
Long Island Community Library keeps short hours: about 13 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
More library cards than residents
141 cards for 134 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 71% 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Long Island’s civic life grade
Long Island 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 →
73 programs a year
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 under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Long Island Community Library serves 134 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
1,549 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 3,166 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
555 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Long Island Community Library, 350 Washington, Long Island.
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 Long Island? 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 $3.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Long Island cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $8,602.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $33K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8,602 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 141 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Long Island Community Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Long Island
Does Long Island have a public library?
Yes. Long Island Community Library, 350 Washington, serves Long Island’s 134 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 13 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Long Island Community 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 Long Island’s library?
It logged 7.9 visits and lent 11.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Long Island’s civic life grade?
Long Island 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 Long Island.
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.