Greenwich’s library logs 9.3 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Greenwich Free Library serves 4,868 people in and around Greenwich. Last year it lent 32K books, movies and e-books and logged 45K visits.
The short version on Greenwich’s library
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
41% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 59%. What your card is worth ↓
Top 10% in New York for library use
Greenwich ranks #13 of 241 New York towns with a library of their own for visits per resident. That’s 9.3 visits per resident, more than at 93% of similar-size libraries nationwide. How it compares ↓
Programs draw a crowd
9,468 people came to the library’s 453 programs last year: 1.9 per resident, against a typical 0.5, more than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Greenwich Free Library serves more than Greenwich
The library’s service area covers 4,868 people in and around Greenwich, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Greenwich’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Greenwich is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns. Greenwich is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Greenwich’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
11 community nonprofits are registered in Greenwich
6.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
9.3%
9.3% of Greenwich’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Greenwich’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, 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.
Greenwich Free Library serves 4,868 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
32K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 25K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
5,854 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Greenwich Free Library, 148 Main Street, Greenwich.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Greenwich? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.39 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Greenwich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $247K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $590K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $247K 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 2,865 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Greenwich
Does Greenwich have a public library?
Yes. Greenwich Free Library, 148 Main Street, serves 4,868 people in and around Greenwich (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Greenwich Free 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 Greenwich’s library?
It logged 9.3 visits and lent 6.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Greenwich’s civic life grade?
A Greenwich is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Greenwich.
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.