Photo: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger) · Public domainEast Greenwich’s library lends 10 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
East Greenwich Free Library serves East Greenwich’s 14,312 residents. Last year it lent 189K books, movies and e-books and logged 54K visits.
The short version on East Greenwich’s library
East Greenwich ranks 2nd in Rhode Island for borrowing
Out of 31 Rhode Island towns with a library of their own, East Greenwich comes 2nd for items borrowed per resident. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 57% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 92% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 23 items per child in East Greenwich last year. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 3.2 e-items per resident, against a typical 1.1, higher than at 90% of similar-size libraries. It’s 25% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Most programs are for young children
70% of the 213 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 2 a week for ages 0–5. 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 East Greenwich’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, East Greenwich is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #10 of 38 in Rhode Island. East Greenwich’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
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 East Greenwich
5.5 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 (9 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
7.4%
7.4% of East Greenwich’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 East Greenwich’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
East Greenwich Free Library serves 14,312 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 72 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
189K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 67K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
46,439 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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 East Greenwich last year.
Find it
East Greenwich Free Library, 82 Peirce Street, East Greenwich.
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 East Greenwich? 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 $3.75 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average East Greenwich cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $749K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2.8M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $749K 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 7,042 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
East Greenwich ranks 2nd of 6 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Kingstown | North Kingstown Free Library | 16.6 | 60 | B+ |
| East Greenwich | East Greenwich Free Library fine-free | 13.2 | 51 | B |
| Exeter | Exeter Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 43 | B |
| West Greenwich | Louttit Library fine-free | 7.9 | 45 | C+ |
| Warwick | Warwick Public Library fine-free | 6.6 | 57 | C+ |
| West Warwick | West Warwick Public Library fine-free | 3.7 | 52 | D |
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 East Greenwich
Does East Greenwich have a public library?
Yes. East Greenwich Free Library, 82 Peirce Street, serves East Greenwich’s 14,312 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 51 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is East Greenwich Free 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 East Greenwich’s library?
It logged 3.7 visits and lent 13.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is East Greenwich’s civic life grade?
B East Greenwich is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on civic life, #10 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 East Greenwich.
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.