Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 3.0Bellport’s library runs 35 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
South Country Library serves 29,046 people in and around Bellport. Last year it lent 205K books, movies and e-books and logged 110K visits.
Bellport’s library, in brief
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
South Country Library ran 1,004 programs last year, about 19 a week. That’s 35 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The Bellport branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 1,004 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 252 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
South Country Library spends $101 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. 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; South Country Library serves 29,046 people in and around Bellport, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Bellport’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Bellport is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns. Bellport is graded on two of the three inputs. Bellport’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($110K–$183K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
9 community nonprofits are registered in Bellport
4.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
4.9%
4.9% of Bellport’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Bellport’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
South Country Library serves 29,046 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 59 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole South Country Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
205K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
53,080 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
South Country Library, 22 Station Road, Bellport.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every South Country Library branch.
New in Bellport? 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 $1.15 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bellport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.9M 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 12,165 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellport | South Country Library | — | 67 | C |
| East Patchogue | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| North Bellport | 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. South Country Library serves 29,046 people in and around Bellport, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Bellport.
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 Bellport
Does Bellport have a public library?
Yes. South Country Library, 22 Station Road, serves 29,046 people in and around Bellport (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Country 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 Bellport’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 7.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Bellport’s civic life grade?
C Bellport is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Bellport.
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.