Baldwin’s library runs 24 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Baldwin Public Library serves 34,404 people in and around Baldwin. Last year it lent 168K books, movies and e-books and logged 91K visits.
Baldwin’s library, in brief
A well-funded system
Baldwin Public Library spends $129 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
64% of the 821 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 223 were for children. 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; Baldwin Public Library serves 34,404 people in and around Baldwin, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Baldwin’s civic life grade
Baldwin 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 →
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Baldwin cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $4.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.4M 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 13,223 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Baldwin Public Library serves 34,404 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Baldwin Public Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
168K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
48,957 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
Find it
Baldwin Public Library, 2385 Grand Avenue, Baldwin.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Baldwin Public Library branch.
New in Baldwin? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead | Hempstead Public Library | 0.8 | 57 | D |
| Baldwin | Baldwin Public Library fine-free | — | 61 | — graded as part of its town |
| Freeport | Freeport Memorial Library | — | 66 | D |
| Rockville Centre | Rockville Centre Public Library | — | 64 | B+ |
| Oceanside | Oceanside Library fine-free | — | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| Roosevelt | Roosevelt Public Library fine-free | — | 62 | — graded as part of its town |
| Uniondale | Uniondale Public Library | — | 60 | — graded as part of its town |
| South Hempstead | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
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.
- System-wide. Baldwin Public Library serves 34,404 people in and around Baldwin, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Baldwin.
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 Baldwin
Does Baldwin have a public library?
Yes. Baldwin Public Library, 2385 Grand Avenue, serves 34,404 people in and around Baldwin (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Baldwin 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 Baldwin’s library?
It logged 2.7 visits and lent 4.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Baldwin’s civic life grade?
Baldwin 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 Baldwin.
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.