Photo: Ihop4u2 · Public domainHuntington’s library runs 42 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
Huntington Public Library serves 35,846 people in and around Huntington from 2 locations. Last year it lent 307K books, movies and e-books and logged 210K visits.
What Huntington’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
Huntington Public Library ran 1,516 programs last year, about 29 a week. That’s 42 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 25,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Huntington Public Library logs 5.9 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, more than 92% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.1 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Huntington Public Library spends $231 per resident a year, about six 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 72 hours a week
The Huntington branch is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year. The buildings ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 91% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Huntington Public Library serves 35,846 people in and around Huntington, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Huntington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Huntington is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns, #214 of 751 in New York. Among the 385 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, it ranks #40. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
774 community nonprofits are registered in Huntington
3.8 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 (120 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 37 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.0%
8.0% of Huntington’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 Huntington’s residents live; 2022.
About 10 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.
Huntington Public Library serves 35,846 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Huntington Public Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
307K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
124,677 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
11 places to borrow in Huntington
Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street, Huntington.
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 Huntington Public Library branch.
New in Huntington? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Huntington Public Library branches in Huntington
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Huntington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8.3M 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 14,830 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntington | Huntington Public Library fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| Oyster Bay | Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library | — | 71 | B |
| Smithtown | The Smithtown Library fine-free | — | 67 | B− |
| Dix Hills | Dix Hills fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Babylon | Lindenhurst Memorial Library fine-free | — | 68 | C− |
| Melville | Melville Branch fine-free | — | 61 | — graded as part of its town |
| Deer Park | Deer Park Public Library | — | 52 | — graded as part of its town |
| Cold Spring Harbor | Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library | — | 62 | — graded as part of its town |
| East Northport | East Northport Public Library fine-free | — | 70 | — graded as part of its town |
| Lloyd Harbor | None of its own | — | — | B |
| Laurel Hollow | None of its own | — | — | D− |
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.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Huntington Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. Huntington Public Library serves 35,846 people in and around Huntington, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Huntington.
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 Huntington
Does Huntington have a public library?
Yes. Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street, serves 35,846 people in and around Huntington (the survey’s count) and is open about 72 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Huntington 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 Huntington’s library?
It logged 5.9 visits and lent 8.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Huntington’s civic life grade?
B+ Huntington is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns on civic life, #214 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 Huntington.
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.