Coram’s library is a branch of Middle Country Public Library, which lends more per resident than 85% of systems its size
Coram’s library is the Middle Country Public Library - Selden, a branch of Middle Country Public Library, which serves 61,579 people and lent 670K items last year.
What Coram’s library is like
12 times the programs of a typical library its size
The Middle Country Public Library system ran 10,234 programs last year, about 197 a week. That’s 166 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 119,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
58,924 cards for 61,579 people, or 96%. At the typical library serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, it’s 39%. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Middle Country Public Library system spends $249 per resident a year, about six times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
The Coram branch is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
63% of the 10,234 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 2,943 were for children. 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; Coram’s library is a branch of Middle Country Public Library, so they cover the whole system (61,579 people), not just the Coram branch.
What’s behind Coram’s civic life grade
Coram 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 57 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.
Middle Country Public Library serves 61,579 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 97 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Middle Country Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
670K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
144,334 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Middle Country Public Library - Selden, 575 Middle Country Road, Selden.
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 Middle Country Public Library branch.
New in Coram? 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 Coram cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $15M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $11M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $15M 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 58,924 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coram | Middle Country Public Library - Selden fine-free | — | 66 | — graded as part of its town |
| Middle Island | Longwood Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | — graded as part of its town |
| Gordon Heights | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Farmingville | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Selden | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Terryville | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Medford | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Miller Place | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Mount Sinai | 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. Middle Country Public Library - Selden is one branch of Middle Country Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 61,579 people it serves.
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 Coram
Does Coram have a public library?
Yes: Middle Country Public Library - Selden, 575 Middle Country Road, is a branch of Middle Country Public Library, which serves 61,579 people. The branch is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Middle Country 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 Coram’s library?
It logged 4.7 visits and lent 10.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Coram’s civic life grade?
Coram 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 Coram.
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.