St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church and School Complex · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Crofton’s library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Eastern Township Library serves Crofton’s 759 residents. Last year it lent 13K books, movies and e-books and logged 2,921 visits.
Crofton’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 70% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 98% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 31 items per child in Crofton last year. Kids & programs ↓
Busy on a lean budget
Eastern Township Library spends $36 per resident, less than 73% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). It’s still borrowed from more than 75% of them. What your card is worth ↓
Crofton is a town of borrowers
Eastern Township Library lends 16 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 95% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
A small-town library
Eastern Township Library serves 759 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 20 hours a week
Eastern Township Library keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
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 Crofton’s civic life grade
Crofton 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 1 kids’ program 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 Crofton last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Eastern Township Library serves 759 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
13K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,810 books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.8 times last year, on average.
Find it
Eastern Township Library, 206 West Main Street, Crofton.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Crofton? 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 $6.38 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Crofton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $27K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $174K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $27K 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 375 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crofton | Eastern Township Library fine-free | 16.5 | 20 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Eastern Township | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Eastern Township 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 Crofton
Does Crofton have a public library?
Yes. Eastern Township Library, 206 West Main Street, serves Crofton’s 759 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Eastern Township Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Crofton’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 16.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Crofton’s civic life grade?
Crofton 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 Crofton.
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.