Photo: Sullynyflhi · Public domainSeaford’s library logs 5.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries its size
Seaford Public Library serves 16,086 people in and around Seaford. Last year it lent 94K books, movies and e-books and logged 87K visits.
The short version on Seaford’s library
A well-funded system
Seaford Public Library spends $141 per resident a year, about three times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (95%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
41% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 41% of loans, more per resident than at 82% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 59%, much of it kids’ books. 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; Seaford Public Library serves 16,086 people in and around Seaford, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Seaford’s civic life grade
Seaford isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Seaford cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.3M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.5M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.3M budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 7,678 cardholders ÷ 12.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Seaford Public Library serves 16,086 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 34 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Seaford Public Library system. The library’s own count.
41% of borrowing is digital
94K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
38,691 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 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
Seaford Public Library, 2234 Jackson Avenue, Seaford.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Seaford Public Library branch.
New in Seaford? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seaford | Seaford Public Library | — | 53 | — graded as part of its town |
| Massapequa | Central Avenue Branch | — | 68 | — graded as part of its town |
| Hempstead | Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library | — | 69 | C− |
| Oyster Bay | Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library | — | 71 | B |
| Wantagh | Wantagh Public Library | — | 60 | — graded as part of its town |
| North Wantagh | 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. Seaford Public Library serves 16,086 people in and around Seaford, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Seaford.
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 Seaford
Does Seaford have a public library?
Yes. Seaford Public Library, 2234 Jackson Avenue, serves 16,086 people in and around Seaford (the survey’s count) and is open about 53 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Seaford Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Seaford’s library?
It logged 5.4 visits and lent 5.8 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Seaford’s civic life grade?
Seaford isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Seaford.
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.