Photo: AITFFan1 · CC BY-SA 4.0West Hempstead’s library lends 13 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
West Hempstead Public Library serves 18,237 people in and around West Hempstead. Last year it lent 268K books, movies and e-books and logged 116K visits.
West Hempstead’s library, in brief
One of the busiest library systems its size
West Hempstead Public Library logs 6.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 13 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Kids’ borrowing is a standout
Children’s books and media are 49% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
A well-funded system
West Hempstead Public Library spends $205 per resident a year, about five times the typical $43 for a library its size. Almost all of it (92%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Open about 66 hours a week
The West Hempstead branch is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; West Hempstead Public Library serves 18,237 people in and around West Hempstead, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind West Hempstead’s civic life grade
West Hempstead 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 →
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.
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.
West Hempstead Public Library serves 18,237 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 78 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole West Hempstead Public Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
268K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
34,832 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
West Hempstead Public Library, 500 Hempstead Avenue, West Hempstead.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every West Hempstead Public Library branch.
New in West Hempstead? 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 $1.10 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average West Hempstead cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $3.7M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.1M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $3.7M 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 9,272 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City | Garden City Public Library | 9.2 | 62 | B+ |
| Hempstead | Hempstead Public Library | 0.8 | 57 | D |
| West Hempstead | West Hempstead Public Library | — | 66 | — graded as part of its town |
| Franklin Square | Franklin Square Public Library | — | 56 | — graded as part of its town |
| Lakeview | Lakeview Public Library fine-free | — | 54 | — graded as part of its town |
| Malverne Park Oaks | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
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. West Hempstead Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
- System-wide. West Hempstead Public Library serves 18,237 people in and around West Hempstead, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just West Hempstead.
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 West Hempstead
Does West Hempstead have a public library?
Yes. West Hempstead Public Library, 500 Hempstead Avenue, serves 18,237 people in and around West Hempstead (the survey’s count) and is open about 66 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is West Hempstead 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 West Hempstead’s library?
It logged 6.4 visits and lent 14.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is West Hempstead’s civic life grade?
West Hempstead 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 West Hempstead.
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.