Photo: Vitsuha · CC BY-SA 4.0Brookhaven’s library runs 39 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Emma S. Clark Memorial Library serves 49,081 people in and around Brookhaven. Last year it lent 633K books, movies and e-books and logged 193K visits.
Brookhaven’s library, in brief
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Emma S. Clark Memorial Library ran 1,897 programs last year, about 36 a week. That’s 39 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 47,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 73 hours a week
The Brookhaven branch is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 91% of similar-size libraries. It’s 27% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
A system of heavy borrowers
Emma S. Clark Memorial Library lends 9.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 88% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 47% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 87% of similar-size libraries. 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; Emma S. Clark Memorial Library serves 49,081 people in and around Brookhaven, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Brookhaven’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Brookhaven is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #482 of 751 in New York. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #136. Library visits hold the grade up; Brookhaven’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($90K–$150K) 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 →
1,301 community nonprofits are registered in Brookhaven
2.7 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (310 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 50 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.6%
6.6% of Brookhaven’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 Brookhaven’s residents live; 2022.
About 21 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 all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Emma S. Clark Memorial Library serves 49,081 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 168 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Emma S. Clark Memorial Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
633K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
173,951 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
18 places to borrow in Brookhaven
Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, 120 Main Street, Setauket.
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 Emma S. Clark Memorial Library branch.
New in Brookhaven? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Emma S. Clark Memorial Library branches in Brookhaven
And 5 more in Brookhaven.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.66 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Brookhaven cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $9.9M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6M 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 23,304 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookhaven | Emma S. Clark Memorial Library fine-free | — | 73 | C+ |
| Riverhead | Riverhead Free Library fine-free | — | 64 | C− |
| Islip | Connetquot Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | C |
| East Shoreham | North Shore Public Library District | — | 61 | — graded as part of its town |
| Smithtown | The Smithtown Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
| Calverton | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Manorville | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Wading River | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Stony Brook | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Bayport | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| West Sayville | 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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Emma S. Clark Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Emma S. Clark Memorial Library serves 49,081 people in and around Brookhaven, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Brookhaven.
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 Brookhaven
Does Brookhaven have a public library?
Yes. Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, 120 Main Street, serves 49,081 people in and around Brookhaven (the survey’s count) and is open about 73 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Emma S. Clark Memorial 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 Brookhaven’s library?
It logged 3.9 visits and lent 12.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Brookhaven’s civic life grade?
C+ Brookhaven is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on civic life, #482 of 751 in New York. 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 Brookhaven.
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.