Roslyn’s library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Bryant Library serves 18,190 people in and around Roslyn. Last year it lent 198K books, movies and e-books and logged 142K visits.
The short version on Roslyn’s library
Visits are the system’s strong suit
Bryant Library logs 7.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Borrowing is above typical too, at 7.6 print items per resident. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 55% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
Bryant Library spends $262 per resident a year, about six times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (94%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
Bryant Library ran 1,045 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 57 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24. People show up: 18,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.3 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% 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; Bryant Library serves 18,190 people in and around Roslyn, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Roslyn’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Roslyn is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #458 of 751 in New York. Roslyn is graded on two of the three inputs. Roslyn’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($87K–$145K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
15 community nonprofits are registered in Roslyn
4.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (3 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.
5.5%
5.5% of Roslyn’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 Roslyn’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 61 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Bryant Library system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Bryant Library serves 18,190 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
198K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
59,367 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 7 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
Bryant Library, 2 Paper Mill Road, Roslyn.
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 Bryant Library branch.
New in Roslyn? 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 Roslyn cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $4.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $4.8M 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 11,714 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roslyn | Bryant Library fine-free | — | 63 | C+ |
| Roslyn Harbor | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Flower Hill | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| East Hills | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Roslyn Estates | None of its own | — | — | C |
| Roslyn Heights | 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. Bryant Library serves 18,190 people in and around Roslyn, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Roslyn.
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 Roslyn
Does Roslyn have a public library?
Yes. Bryant Library, 2 Paper Mill Road, serves 18,190 people in and around Roslyn (the survey’s count) and is open about 63 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bryant 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 Roslyn’s library?
It logged 7.8 visits and lent 10.9 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Roslyn’s civic life grade?
C+ Roslyn is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on civic life, #458 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 Roslyn.
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.