Essex County Fairgrounds · Photo: Mwanner · CC BY-SA 3.0Westport’s library runs 32 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Westport Library Association serves Westport’s 1,320 residents. Last year it lent 3,710 print books and media and logged 3,415 visits.
Westport’s library, in brief
Mostly paid for by gifts, not taxes
83% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 16%. What your card is worth ↓
A small-town library
Westport Library Association serves 1,320 residents with about one full-time staff. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Open only about 21 hours a week
Westport Library Association keeps short hours: about 21 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The buildings ↓
A place to get online
Westport Library Association logs about 29 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 1 public computers. That’s 8 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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Westport’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Westport is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Westport’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 →
20 community nonprofits are registered in Westport
12.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: environment & animals.
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 (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
8.6%
8.6% of Westport’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 Westport’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 1 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Westport Library Association serves 1,320 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 3 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
3,710 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
42 programs a year
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 Westport last year.
2 places to borrow in Westport
Westport Library Association, 6 Harris Lane, Westport.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Westport? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in Westport
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Westport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $129K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $95K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $129K 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 515 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Westport borrows the most per resident of the 3 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westport | Westport Library Association fine-free | 2.8 | 21 | A− |
| Essex | Belden Noble Memorial Library of Essex fine-free | 1.6 | 24 | — under 1,000 residents |
| Moriah | Sherman Free Library fine-free | 0.4 | 27 | D− |
| Elizabethtown | Elizabethtown Library Association fine-free | — | 25 | B+ |
| Ferrisburgh | None of its own | — | — | A |
| Panton | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
| Lewis | None of its own | — | — | — too few inputs |
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.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Westport
Does Westport have a public library?
Yes. Westport Library Association, 6 Harris Lane, serves Westport’s 1,320 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 21 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Westport Library Association 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 Westport’s library?
It logged 2.6 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Westport’s civic life grade?
A− Westport is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life. 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 Westport.
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.