Photo: AJW1188 · CC BY-SA 3.0Commack’s library logs 10 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Commack Public Library District serves 15,356 people in and around Commack. Last year it lent 106K books, movies and e-books and logged 153K visits.
What Commack’s library is like
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 97% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 42%. Program attendance beats 93% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 52% of loans, more per resident than at 92% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 48%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Commack Public Library District ran 1,078 programs last year, about 21 a week. That’s 70 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 20,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Commack Public Library District spends $261 per resident a year, about six times the typical $43 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 67 hours a week
The Commack branch is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
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; Commack Public Library District serves 15,356 people in and around Commack, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Commack’s civic life grade
Commack 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 30 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Commack Public Library District system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Commack Public Library District serves 15,356 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
52% of borrowing is digital
106K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
54,605 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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.
2 places to borrow in Commack
Commack Public Library, 18 Hauppauge Road, Commack.
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 Commack Public Library District branch.
New in Commack? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Commack Public Library District branches in Commack
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Commack cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.7M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4M 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 10,986 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commack | Commack Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| Smithtown | The Smithtown Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
| Dix Hills | Dix Hills fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Kings Park | The Smithtown Library - Kings Park Branch fine-free | — | 62 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hauppauge | Hauppauge Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | — graded as part of its town |
| Huntington | Huntington Public Library fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| Brentwood | Brentwood Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Islip | Connetquot Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | C |
| Elwood | Elwood Public Library fine-free | — | 61 | — graded as part of its town |
| East Northport | East Northport Public Library fine-free | — | 70 | — 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. Commack Public Library District serves 15,356 people in and around Commack, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Commack.
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 Commack
Does Commack have a public library?
Yes. Commack Public Library District, 18 Hauppauge Road, serves 15,356 people in and around Commack (the survey’s count) and is open about 67 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Commack Public Library District 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 Commack’s library?
It logged 10.0 visits and lent 6.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Commack’s civic life grade?
Commack 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 Commack.
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.