Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 4.0Center Moriches’ library logs 25 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Center Moriches Free Public Library serves 8,012 people in and around Center Moriches. Last year it lent 186K books, movies and e-books and logged 203K visits.
Center Moriches’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
14,256 cards for 8,012 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
One of the busiest library systems its size
Center Moriches Free Public Library logs 25 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Center Moriches Free Public Library ran 1,393 programs last year, about 27 a week. That’s 174 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 45,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
46% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 46% of loans, more per resident than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 54%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
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; Center Moriches Free Public Library serves 8,012 people in and around Center Moriches, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Center Moriches’ civic life grade
Center Moriches 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 14 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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Center Moriches Free Public Library serves 8,012 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 53 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Center Moriches Free Public Library system. The library’s own count.
46% of borrowing is digital
186K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
85,071 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Center Moriches Free Public Library, 235 Main Street, Center Moriches.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Center Moriches Free Public Library branch.
New in Center Moriches? 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 Center Moriches cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M 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 14,256 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center Moriches | Center Moriches Free Public Library | — | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| Moriches | Moriches Branch fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| East Moriches | 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 count everyone. Center Moriches’ 203,194 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Center Moriches Free Public Library serves 8,012 people in and around Center Moriches, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Center Moriches.
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 Center Moriches
Does Center Moriches have a public library?
Yes. Center Moriches Free Public Library, 235 Main Street, serves 8,012 people in and around Center Moriches (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Center Moriches Free Public 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 Center Moriches’ library?
It logged 25.4 visits and lent 23.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Center Moriches’ civic life grade?
Center Moriches 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 Center Moriches.
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.