Central Islip’s library runs 26 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Central Islip Public Library serves 39,964 people in and around Central Islip. Last year it lent 80K books, movies and e-books and logged 111K visits.
The short version on Central Islip’s library
Well funded, but lightly used
Central Islip Public Library spends $94 per resident, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Use doesn’t match: visits per resident are lower than at 46% of them. What your card is worth ↓
49% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 49% of loans. That’s partly because print borrowing is low: digital loans per resident are below typical too. What people borrow ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Central Islip branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
People visit, but borrow less than most
Central Islip Public Library lends 1 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, fewer than 89% of similar-size libraries, though visits are closer to typical. 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; Central Islip Public Library serves 39,964 people in and around Central Islip, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Central Islip’s civic life grade
Central Islip 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 Central Islip cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $3.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.8M 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 13,151 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Central Islip Public Library serves 39,964 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Central Islip Public Library system. The library’s own count.
49% of borrowing is digital
80K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
39,556 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
Central Islip Public Library, 33 Hawthorne Avenue, Central Islip.
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 Central Islip Public Library branch.
New in Central Islip? 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Islip | Central Islip Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Bohemia | Connetquot Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | — graded as part of its town |
| Brentwood | Brentwood Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Hauppauge | Hauppauge Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Great River | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Islandia | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Ronkonkoma | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Islip Terrace | 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. Central Islip Public Library serves 39,964 people in and around Central Islip, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Central Islip.
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 Central Islip
Does Central Islip have a public library?
Yes. Central Islip Public Library, 33 Hawthorne Avenue, serves 39,964 people in and around Central Islip (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Central Islip 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 Central Islip’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 2.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Central Islip’s civic life grade?
Central Islip 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 Central Islip.
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.