Photo: Iracaz · CC BY-SA 3.0Port Jefferson’s library lends 28 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8 for libraries its size
Port Jefferson Free Library serves 7,654 people in and around Port Jefferson from 2 locations. Last year it lent 279K books, movies and e-books and logged 125K visits.
The short version on Port Jefferson’s library
One of the busiest library systems its size
Port Jefferson Free Library logs 16 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 28 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 99% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Port Jefferson Free Library ran 1,617 programs last year, about 31 a week. That’s 211 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 27,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
More library cards than residents
8,520 cards for 7,654 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, it’s 42%. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 8.4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 99% of similar-size libraries. It’s 23% of all loans. 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; Port Jefferson Free Library serves 7,654 people in and around Port Jefferson, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Port Jefferson’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Port Jefferson is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #90 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Port Jefferson Free Library logged 16.3 visits per resident in FY2024, #55 of the 3,790 town libraries we compare. The survey counts every visit, residents or not, and libraries don’t report how many come from out of town.
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 →
44 community nonprofits are registered in Port Jefferson
5.4 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 (11 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.8%
7.8% of Port Jefferson’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 Port Jefferson’s residents live; 2022.
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 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Port Jefferson Free Library serves 7,654 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 59 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Port Jefferson Free Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
279K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
64,132 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 Port Jefferson
Port Jefferson Free Library, 100 Thompson St., Port Jefferson.
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 Port Jefferson Free Library branch.
New in Port Jefferson? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other Port Jefferson Free Library branches in Port Jefferson
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.02 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Port Jefferson cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $4.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.3M 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 8,520 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Jefferson | Port Jefferson Free Library fine-free | — | 47 | A |
| Port Jefferson Station | Comsewogue Public Library fine-free | — | 63 | — graded as part of its town |
| Mount Sinai | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Belle Terre | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| East Setauket | 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.
- Visits count everyone. Port Jefferson’s 124,590 visits include people from nearby towns and summer visitors; the survey has no resident share.
- System-wide. Port Jefferson Free Library serves 7,654 people in and around Port Jefferson, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Port Jefferson.
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 Port Jefferson
Does Port Jefferson have a public library?
Yes. Port Jefferson Free Library, 100 Thompson St., serves 7,654 people in and around Port Jefferson (the survey’s count) and is open about 47 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Port Jefferson Free 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 Port Jefferson’s library?
It logged 16.3 visits and lent 36.4 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Port Jefferson’s civic life grade?
A Port Jefferson is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on civic life, #90 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 Port Jefferson.
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.