Photo: W.marsh · CC BY-SA 3.0Sandy Hook’s library logs 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Elliott County Public Library serves 7,245 people in and around Sandy Hook. Last year it lent 3,771 books, movies and e-books and logged 7,214 visits.
Sandy Hook’s library, in brief
Elliott County Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Elliott County Public Library records 1 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.5 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $4 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Elliott County Public Library offered 18 programs last year, 2.5 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
26% of the system’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 74%. What your card is worth ↓
Runs on less money than most
Elliott County Public Library spends $4 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
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; Elliott County Public Library serves 7,245 people in and around Sandy Hook, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Sandy Hook’s civic life grade
Sandy Hook 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 →
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Elliott County Public Library serves 7,245 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 2 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Elliott County Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
3,771 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
18 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Elliott County Public Library, 207 S. Ky 7, Sandy Hook.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Elliott County Public Library branch.
New in Sandy Hook? 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 $2.53 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sandy Hook cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $28K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $71K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $28K 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 2,989 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Elliott County Public Library serves 7,245 people in and around Sandy Hook, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Sandy Hook.
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 Sandy Hook
Does Sandy Hook have a public library?
Yes. Elliott County Public Library, 207 S. Ky 7, serves 7,245 people in and around Sandy Hook (the survey’s count) and is open about 40 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Elliott County Public Library 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 Sandy Hook’s library?
It logged 1.0 visits and lent 0.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sandy Hook’s civic life grade?
Sandy Hook 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 Sandy Hook.
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.