Moriches’ library is a branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, which lends less per resident than 63% of systems its size
Moriches’s library is the Moriches Branch, a branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, which serves 50,285 people and lent 223K items last year.
Moriches’s library, in brief
A well-funded system
The Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib system spends $159 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 ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib system ran 1,733 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 34 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Moriches branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Moriches’s library is a branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, so they cover the whole system (50,285 people), not just the Moriches branch.
What’s behind Moriches’ civic life grade
Moriches 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 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib serves 50,285 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
223K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
84,911 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Moriches Branch, 201 Montauk Highway, Moriches.
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 Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib branch.
New in Moriches? 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 Moriches cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M 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 25,199 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moriches | Moriches Branch fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Center Moriches | Center Moriches Free Public Library | — | 67 | — graded as part of its town |
| Mastic | Mastic Recreation Center fine-free | — | 65 | — graded as part of its town |
| Manorville | 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. Moriches Branch is one branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 50,285 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 Moriches
Does Moriches have a public library?
Yes: Moriches Branch, 201 Montauk Highway, is a branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, which serves 50,285 people. The branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib 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 Moriches’ library?
It logged 3.1 visits and lent 4.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Moriches’ civic life grade?
Moriches 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 Moriches.
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.