Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0North Castle’s library runs 93 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
North Castle Public Library serves North Castle’s 12,408 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 131K books, movies and e-books and logged 84K visits.
The short version on North Castle’s library
Four times the programs of a typical library its size
North Castle Public Library ran 1,149 programs last year, about 22 a week. That’s 93 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 35,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
48% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 48% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 52%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
People come to North Castle Public Library a lot
North Castle Public Library logs 6.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
North Castle invests in its library
North Castle Public Library spends $149 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. All of it comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Kids’ books are most of what goes out
Children’s books and media make up 64% of print loans. Per resident, kids’ borrowing is higher than at 79% of similar-size libraries. 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.
What’s behind North Castle’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, North Castle is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #243 of 751 in New York. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 →
66 community nonprofits are registered in North Castle
5.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
5.6%
5.6% of North Castle’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 North Castle’s residents live; 2022.
About 12 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in North Castle last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
North Castle Public Library serves 12,408 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
48% of borrowing is digital
131K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 62K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
62,637 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
2 places to borrow in North Castle
North Castle Public Library, 19 Whippoorwill Road East, Armonk.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in North Castle? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in North Castle
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.21 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average North Castle cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 4,040 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
North Castle ranks 2nd of 9 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenwich | Greenwich Library fine-free | 15.1 | 63 | B+ |
| North Castle | North Castle Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 47 | B+ |
| Armonk | North Castle Public Library fine-free | 10.5 | 47 | — graded as part of its town |
| Pound Ridge | Pound Ridge Library District fine-free | 10.4 | 40 | B− |
| White Plains | White Plains Public Library fine-free | 8.4 | 60 | B |
| Harrison | Harrison Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 55 | B− |
| Harrison | Harrison Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 55 | — graded with its twin city |
| Mount Pleasant | Mount Pleasant Public Library fine-free | 7.6 | 53 | B+ |
| Stamford | Ferguson Library fine-free | 4.5 | 57 | C |
| Greenburgh | Greenburgh Public Library fine-free | — | 53 | B+ |
| Valhalla | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 North Castle
Does North Castle have a public library?
Yes. North Castle Public Library, 19 Whippoorwill Road East, serves North Castle’s 12,408 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is North Castle 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 North Castle’s library?
It logged 6.8 visits and lent 10.5 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is North Castle’s civic life grade?
B+ North Castle is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on civic life, #243 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 North Castle.
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.