Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0Hempstead’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library serves 22,161 people in and around Hempstead. Last year it lent 352K books, movies and e-books and logged 145K visits.
The short version on Hempstead’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library logs 6.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 88% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library spends $261 per resident a year, about six times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 69 hours a week
The Hempstead branch is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
Programs lean toward adults
53% of the 730 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 267 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; Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library serves 22,161 people in and around Hempstead, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Hempstead’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Hempstead is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns, #637 of 751 in New York. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #219. Hempstead is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs sit below most U.S. towns; Hempstead’s count of community nonprofits comes closest to the middle.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($106K–$177K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
2,468 community nonprofits are registered in Hempstead
3.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (911 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 200 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.6%
5.6% of Hempstead’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 Hempstead’s residents live; 2022.
About 5 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 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library serves 22,161 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 98 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
352K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
57,356 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
30 places to borrow in Hempstead
Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, 1125 Broadway, Hewlett.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library branch.
New in Hempstead? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library branches in Hempstead
And 17 more in Hempstead.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Hempstead cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $5.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $5.8M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 13,112 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead | Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library | — | 69 | C− |
| Oyster Bay | Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library | — | 71 | B |
| New York | Brooklyn Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | C− |
| Levittown | Levittown Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Hempstead | Westbury Memorial Public Library | — | 71 | B− |
| Massapequa | Central Avenue Branch | — | 68 | — graded as part of its town |
| Bethpage | Bethpage Public Library | — | 69 | — graded as part of its town |
| Seaford | Seaford Public Library | — | 53 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Massapequa | Plainedge Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hicksville | Hicksville Public Library fine-free | — | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| Inwood | 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. Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library serves 22,161 people in and around Hempstead, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Hempstead.
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 Hempstead
Does Hempstead have a public library?
Yes. Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, 1125 Broadway, serves 22,161 people in and around Hempstead (the survey’s count) and is open about 69 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Hempstead’s library?
It logged 6.5 visits and lent 15.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Hempstead’s civic life grade?
C− Hempstead is ahead of 19% of U.S. towns on civic life, #637 of 751 in New York. 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 Hempstead.
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.