Photo: Brian McGuirk · CC BY-SA 2.0Barrington’s library lends 15 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Barrington Public Library serves Barrington’s 17,153 residents. Last year it lent 337K books, movies and e-books and logged 152K visits.
Barrington’s library, in brief
Barrington borrows more library books per person than any town in Rhode Island
Out of 31 Rhode Island towns with a library of their own, Barrington comes first for items borrowed per resident. It’s also #2 for kids’ borrowing and #2 for library use. How it compares ↓
Barrington uses its library more than almost any town its size
Barrington Public Library logs 8.8 visits per resident, against a typical 3.1 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, and lends 15 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 95% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Barrington out-borrows every town next door
At 20 loans per resident, Barrington leads the six towns here. The closest is Portsmouth, at 6.8. Libraries next door ↓
Kids borrow more here than almost anywhere
Children’s books and media are 48% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 27 items per child in Barrington last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.6 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 96% of similar-size libraries. It’s 24% of all loans. 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.
What’s behind Barrington’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Barrington is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #2 of 38 in Rhode Island. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank 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 →
99 community nonprofits are registered in Barrington
5.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (8 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.7%
7.7% of Barrington’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.4% in the typical Rhode Island 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 Barrington’s residents live; 2022.
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.
Barrington Public Library serves 17,153 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 106 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
337K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 108K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.4 times last year, on average.
79,215 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 5 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 Barrington last year.
Find it
Barrington Public Library, 281 County Road, Barrington.
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 Barrington? 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 $2.90 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Barrington cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $5.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.8M 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 12,023 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Barrington borrows the most per resident of the 6 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrington | Barrington Public Library fine-free | 19.6 | 61 | A− |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth Free Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 55 | B |
| Warwick | Warwick Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 57 | C+ |
| Bristol | Rogers Free Library fine-free | 6.3 | 57 | B− |
| East Providence | East Providence Public Library fine-free | 6.1 | 63 | C |
| Warren | George Hail Free Library | 3.9 | 50 | C+ |
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 Barrington
Does Barrington have a public library?
Yes. Barrington Public Library, 281 County Road, serves Barrington’s 17,153 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 61 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Barrington 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 Barrington’s library?
It logged 8.8 visits and lent 19.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Barrington’s civic life grade?
A− Barrington is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #2 of 38 in Rhode Island. 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 Barrington.
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.