Photo: Sean Helling · CC BY-SA 4.0East Meadow’s library runs 26 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
East Meadow Public Library serves 52,315 people in and around East Meadow. Last year it lent 355K books, movies and e-books and logged 228K visits.
What East Meadow’s library is like
Above typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, East Meadow Public Library is above the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, with four in the top 30%. No single number stands out, and none lags far behind. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
East Meadow Public Library spends $132 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (96%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The East Meadow branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; East Meadow Public Library serves 52,315 people in and around East Meadow, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind East Meadow’s civic life grade
East Meadow 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 East Meadow cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $6.9M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $6.9M 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 24,046 cardholders ÷ 12.
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.
East Meadow Public Library serves 52,315 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 105 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole East Meadow Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
355K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
100,978 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.
Find it
East Meadow Public Library, 1886 Front Street, East Meadow.
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 East Meadow Public Library branch.
New in East Meadow? 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Meadow | East Meadow Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Uniondale | Uniondale Public Library | — | 60 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Bellmore | North Bellmore Public Library fine-free | — | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| Levittown | Levittown Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| Westbury | Westbury Memorial Public Library | — | 71 | D |
| Salisbury | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| North Merrick | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| North Wantagh | 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. East Meadow Public Library serves 52,315 people in and around East Meadow, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just East Meadow.
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 East Meadow
Does East Meadow have a public library?
Yes. East Meadow Public Library, 1886 Front Street, serves 52,315 people in and around East Meadow (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Meadow 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 East Meadow’s library?
It logged 4.4 visits and lent 6.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is East Meadow’s civic life grade?
East Meadow 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 East Meadow.
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.