Photo: Antony-22 · CC BY-SA 4.0Sea Cliff’s library runs 207 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Sea Cliff Village Library serves Sea Cliff’s 5,062 residents from 2 locations. Last year it lent 42K books, movies and e-books and logged 35K visits.
Sea Cliff’s library, in brief
Six times the programs of a typical library its size
Sea Cliff’s library system ran 1,046 programs last year, about 20 a week. That’s 207 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34. People show up: 12,000 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Programs are almost all for children
82% of the 1,046 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 12 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
46% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 46% of loans, more per resident than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 54%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
A place to get online
Sea Cliff’s library system logs about 59 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 6 public computers. That’s 4.3 sessions per resident a year. A year at the library ↓
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 Sea Cliff’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Sea Cliff is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #84 of 751 in New York. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Sea Cliff’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 →
35 community nonprofits are registered in Sea Cliff
7.0 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
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 (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.2%
8.2% of Sea Cliff’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 Sea Cliff’s residents live; 2022.
About 16 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 Sea Cliff last year.
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.
Sea Cliff Village Library serves 5,062 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
46% of borrowing is digital
42K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
19,228 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 Sea Cliff
Sea Cliff Village Library, Sea Cliff and Central Avenues, Sea Cliff.
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 Sea Cliff? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Sea Cliff
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.13 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Sea Cliff cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $379K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $809K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $379K 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 2,874 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea Cliff | Sea Cliff Village Library fine-free | 8.3 | 46 | A |
| Oyster Bay | Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library | — | 71 | B |
| Glen Cove | Glen Cove Public Library fine-free | — | 64 | C |
| Glen Head | Gold Coast Public Library | — | 68 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Hempstead | Westbury Memorial Public Library | — | 71 | B− |
| Glenwood Landing | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Port Washington | 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 are a typical-week estimate. Sea Cliff Village Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Sea Cliff
Does Sea Cliff have a public library?
Yes. Sea Cliff Village Library, Sea Cliff and Central Avenues, serves Sea Cliff’s 5,062 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 46 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Sea Cliff Village 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 Sea Cliff’s library?
It logged 6.9 visits and lent 8.3 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Sea Cliff’s civic life grade?
A Sea Cliff is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on civic life, #84 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 Sea Cliff.
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.