Emmanuel Episcopal Church Complex · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Norwich’s library is a branch of Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich, which lends more per resident than 67% of systems its size
Norwich’s library is the Guernsey Memorial Library, a branch of Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich, which serves 12,588 people and lent 80K items last year.
Norwich’s library, in brief
Visits are the system’s strong suit
The Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich system logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 96% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 5.5 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
Open about 64 hours a week
The Norwich branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
Programs lean toward adults
69% of the 399 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 110 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; Norwich’s library is a branch of Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich, so they cover the whole system (12,588 people), not just the Norwich branch.
What’s behind Norwich’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Norwich is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #88 of 751 in New York. Norwich is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Norwich’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
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 →
56 community nonprofits are registered in Norwich
8.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.3%
8.3% of Norwich’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 Norwich’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 24 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich serves 12,588 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
80K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
10,195 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
Find it
Guernsey Memorial Library, 3 Court Street, Norwich.
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 Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich branch.
New in Norwich? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.86 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norwich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $977K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $977K 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 6,330 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Guernsey Memorial Library is one branch of Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 12,588 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 Norwich
Does Norwich have a public library?
Yes: Guernsey Memorial Library, 3 Court Street, is a branch of Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich, which serves 12,588 people. The branch is open about 64 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Guernsey Memorial Library of Norwich 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 Norwich’s library?
It logged 9.7 visits and lent 6.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Norwich’s civic life grade?
A Norwich is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #88 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 Norwich.
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.