Old Southeast Church · Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0Southeast’s library runs 50 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 24 for libraries its size
Brewster Public Library serves Southeast’s 18,058 residents. Last year it lent 58K books, movies and e-books and logged 42K visits.
The short version on Southeast’s library
46% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 46% of loans, more per resident than at 62% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 54%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
69% of the 900 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 225 were for children. Kids & programs ↓
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 Southeast’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Southeast is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #498 of 751 in New York. Southeast’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($83K–$139K) 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 →
80 community nonprofits are registered in Southeast
4.4 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 (14 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
6.4%
6.4% of Southeast’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 Southeast’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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 Southeast last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Brewster Public Library serves 18,058 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
46% of borrowing is digital
58K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 26K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
26,695 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Brewster Public Library, 79 Main Street, Brewster.
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 Southeast? 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 $2.09 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Southeast cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $488K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $488K 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 6,020 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Southeast ranks 3rd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Salem | Ruth Keeler Memorial Library fine-free | 6.9 | 42 | B+ |
| Patterson | Patterson Library fine-free | 4.8 | 51 | C |
| Southeast | Brewster Public Library fine-free | 3.2 | 52 | C |
| Danbury | Danbury Public Library | 3.2 | 51 | D |
| Carmel | Reed Memorial Library fine-free | 1.8 | 42 | C |
| Taylor Corners | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Putnam Lake | 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 Southeast
Does Southeast have a public library?
Yes. Brewster Public Library, 79 Main Street, serves Southeast’s 18,058 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brewster Public 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 Southeast’s library?
It logged 2.3 visits and lent 3.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Southeast’s civic life grade?
C Southeast is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on civic life, #498 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 Southeast.
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.