Photo: Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand. Cropped and color-corrected 2009-12-31 by Daniel Case · CC BY 2.0Shrub Oak’s library runs 27 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14 for libraries its size
John C. Hart Memorial Library serves 36,569 people in and around Shrub Oak. Last year it lent 406K books, movies and e-books and logged 141K visits.
Shrub Oak’s library, in brief
44% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 44% of loans, more per resident than at 97% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 56%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
John C. Hart Memorial Library serves more than Shrub Oak
The library’s service area covers 36,569 people in and around Shrub Oak, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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 Shrub Oak’s civic life grade
Shrub Oak 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 →
44% of borrowing is digital
406K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 80K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.8 times last year, on average.
179,825 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
John C. Hart Memorial Library serves 36,569 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 139 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 9 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.
Find it
John C. Hart Memorial Library, 1130 East Main Street, Shrub Oak.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shrub Oak? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shrub Oak cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $2.6M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $6.3M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.6M 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 22,031 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shrub Oak | John C. Hart Memorial Library | 11.1 | 56 | — graded as part of its town |
| Lake Mohegan | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Jefferson Valley-Yorktown | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Crompond | 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.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
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 Shrub Oak
Does Shrub Oak have a public library?
Yes. John C. Hart Memorial Library, 1130 East Main Street, serves 36,569 people in and around Shrub Oak (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is John C. Hart Memorial 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 Shrub Oak’s library?
It logged 3.8 visits and lent 11.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Shrub Oak’s civic life grade?
Shrub Oak 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 Shrub Oak.
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.