Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Montauk’s library runs 200 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Montauk Library serves 4,318 people in and around Montauk. Last year it lent 47K books, movies and e-books and logged 55K visits.
The short version on Montauk’s library
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Montauk Library ran 865 programs last year, about 17 a week. That’s 200 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 13,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Most of the library’s borrowing is digital
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 56% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 44%. What people borrow ↓
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Montauk Library logs 13 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, more than 97% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 4.8 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
A well-funded system
Montauk Library spends $344 per resident a year, about eight times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (97%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Nearly everyone the system serves has a card
3,855 cards for 4,318 people, or 89%. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
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; Montauk Library serves 4,318 people in and around Montauk, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Montauk’s civic life grade
Montauk 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 4 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.
Montauk Library serves 4,318 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 15 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Montauk Library system. The library’s own count.
56% of borrowing is digital
47K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
25,962 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Montauk Library, 871 Montauk Highway, Montauk.
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 Montauk Library branch.
New in Montauk? 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 Montauk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.5M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $842K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.5M 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 3,855 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montauk | Montauk Library fine-free | — | 61 | — graded as part of its town |
| Napeague | 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. Montauk Library serves 4,318 people in and around Montauk, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Montauk.
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 Montauk
Does Montauk have a public library?
Yes. Montauk Library, 871 Montauk Highway, serves 4,318 people in and around Montauk (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Montauk 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 Montauk’s library?
It logged 12.7 visits and lent 10.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Montauk’s civic life grade?
Montauk 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 Montauk.
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.