Melville’s library is a branch of Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library, which lends more per resident than 65% of systems its size
Melville’s library is the Melville Branch, a branch of Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library, which serves 48,409 people and lent 417K items last year.
What Melville’s library is like
Three times the programs of a typical library its size
The Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library system ran 2,352 programs last year, about 45 a week. That’s 49 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. People show up: 62,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library system 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 5.3 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
The Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library system spends $166 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.2, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 39% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
62% of the 2,352 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 569 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; Melville’s library is a branch of Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library, so they cover the whole system (48,409 people), not just the Melville branch.
What’s behind Melville’s civic life grade
Melville 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 11 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.
Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library serves 48,409 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 64 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
417K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
161,945 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Melville Branch, 510 Sweet Hollow Road, Melville.
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 Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library branch.
New in Melville? 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 Melville cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $7.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8M 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 31,794 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melville | Melville Branch fine-free | — | 61 | — graded as part of its town |
| Dix Hills | Dix Hills fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Huntington | Huntington Public Library fine-free | — | 72 | B+ |
| South Huntington | South Huntington Public Library fine-free | — | 68 | — graded as part of its town |
| Babylon | Lindenhurst Memorial Library fine-free | — | 68 | C− |
| Oyster Bay | Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library | — | 71 | B |
| Plainview | Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library | — | 71 | — graded as part of its town |
| West Hills | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| East Farmingdale | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Wheatley Heights | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Old Bethpage | 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. Melville Branch is one branch of Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 48,409 people it serves.
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 Melville
Does Melville have a public library?
Yes: Melville Branch, 510 Sweet Hollow Road, is a branch of Half Hollow Hills Community Public Library, which serves 48,409 people. The branch is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Half Hollow Hills Community 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 Melville’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 Melville’s civic life grade?
Melville 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 Melville.
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.