Brentwood’s library logs 4.4 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries its size
Brentwood Public Library serves 90,116 people in and around Brentwood. Last year it lent 143K books, movies and e-books and logged 394K visits.
The short version on Brentwood’s library
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 81% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 8%. The building also logs about 154 Wi-Fi sessions a day. A year at the library ↓
Open about 68 hours a week
The Brentwood branch is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
47% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 47% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
57% of the 1,404 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 345 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Brentwood Public Library spends $97 per resident a year, about twice the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) 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; Brentwood Public Library serves 90,116 people in and around Brentwood, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Brentwood’s civic life grade
Brentwood 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 →
Every hour the doors are open, about 40 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Brentwood Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Brentwood Public Library serves 90,116 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
47% of borrowing is digital
143K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
67,307 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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
Brentwood Public Library, 34 Second Avenue, Brentwood.
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 Brentwood Public Library branch.
New in Brentwood? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brentwood cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.7M 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 42,924 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentwood | Brentwood Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Islip | Connetquot Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | C |
| Smithtown | The Smithtown Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
| Central Islip | Central Islip Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hauppauge | Hauppauge Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | — graded as part of its town |
| Commack | Commack Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| Deer Park | Deer Park Public Library | — | 52 | — graded as part of its town |
| Babylon | Lindenhurst Memorial Library fine-free | — | 68 | C− |
| Dix Hills | Dix Hills fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Bay Shore | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Baywood | 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. Brentwood Public Library serves 90,116 people in and around Brentwood, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brentwood.
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 Brentwood
Does Brentwood have a public library?
Yes. Brentwood Public Library, 34 Second Avenue, serves 90,116 people in and around Brentwood (the survey’s count) and is open about 68 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brentwood 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 Brentwood’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 1.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Brentwood’s civic life grade?
Brentwood 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 Brentwood.
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.