Holbrook’s library runs 41 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Sachem Public Library serves 81,592 people in and around Holbrook. Last year it lent 646K books, movies and e-books and logged 286K visits.
The short version on Holbrook’s library
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Sachem Public Library ran 3,350 programs last year, about 64 a week. That’s 41 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 184,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Sachem Public Library spends $136 per resident a year, about three times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Holbrook branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 86% of similar-size libraries. It’s 36% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
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; Sachem Public Library serves 81,592 people in and around Holbrook, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Holbrook’s civic life grade
Holbrook 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 19 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.
Sachem Public Library serves 81,592 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 192 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Sachem Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
646K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
232,507 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Sachem Public Library, 150 Holbrook Road, Holbrook.
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 Sachem Public Library branch.
New in Holbrook? 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 $1.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Holbrook cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $12M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 55,993 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holbrook | Sachem Public Library fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Brookhaven | Emma S. Clark Memorial Library fine-free | — | 73 | C+ |
| Islip | Connetquot Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | C |
| Bohemia | Connetquot Public Library fine-free | — | 71 | — graded as part of its town |
| Blue Point | Bayport-Blue Point Public Library fine-free | — | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| Holtsville | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Lake Ronkonkoma | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Ronkonkoma | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Bayport | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| North Patchogue | 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. Sachem Public Library serves 81,592 people in and around Holbrook, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Holbrook.
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 Holbrook
Does Holbrook have a public library?
Yes. Sachem Public Library, 150 Holbrook Road, serves 81,592 people in and around Holbrook (the survey’s count) and is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sachem 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 Holbrook’s library?
It logged 3.5 visits and lent 7.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Holbrook’s civic life grade?
Holbrook 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 Holbrook.
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.