Locust Valley’s library runs 139 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Locust Valley Library serves 6,894 people in and around Locust Valley. Last year it lent 56K books, movies and e-books and logged 51K visits.
Locust Valley’s library, in brief
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
Locust Valley Library ran 961 programs last year, about 18 a week. That’s 139 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 15,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Locust Valley Library spends $235 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Programs lean toward adults
50% of the 961 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 325 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.5 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% 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; Locust Valley Library serves 6,894 people in and around Locust Valley, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Locust Valley’s civic life grade
Locust Valley 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 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.
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.
Locust Valley Library serves 6,894 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 19 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Locust Valley Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
56K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
17,171 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Locust Valley Library, 170 Buckram Road, Locust Valley.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Locust Valley Library branch.
New in Locust Valley? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Locust Valley cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.6M 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 3,009 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locust Valley | Locust Valley Library | — | 58 | — graded as part of its town |
| Glen Cove | Glen Cove Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | C |
| Oyster Bay | Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library | — | 71 | B |
| Lattingtown | None of its own | — | — | D− |
| Mill Neck | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
| Matinecock | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. Locust Valley Library serves 6,894 people in and around Locust Valley, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Locust Valley.
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 Locust Valley
Does Locust Valley have a public library?
Yes. Locust Valley Library, 170 Buckram Road, serves 6,894 people in and around Locust Valley (the survey’s count) and is open about 58 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Locust Valley 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 Locust Valley’s library?
It logged 7.3 visits and lent 8.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Locust Valley’s civic life grade?
Locust Valley 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 Locust Valley.
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.