Photo: The original uploader was Swampyank at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 3.0Little Compton’s library logs 6.4 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Brownell Library, Home of Little Compton serves Little Compton’s 3,616 residents. Last year it lent 40K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.
Little Compton’s library, in brief
Little Compton out-borrows every town next door
At 11 loans per resident, Little Compton leads the four towns here. The closest is Tiverton, at 6.8. Libraries next door ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 36% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Programs lean toward adults
63% of the 162 programs last year were for adults: classes, talks, clubs and events. 51 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 Little Compton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Little Compton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #1 of 38 in Rhode Island. Little Compton’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 →
38 community nonprofits are registered in Little Compton
10.6 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 (2 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 1 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.2%
7.2% of Little Compton’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 Little Compton’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
40K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 24K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.1 time last year, on average.
14,583 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Brownell Library, Home of Little Compton serves 3,616 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
162 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 Little Compton last year.
Find it
Brownell Library, Home of Little Compton, 44 Commons, Little Compton.
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 Little Compton? 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 $2.28 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Little Compton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $281K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $641K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $281K 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 2,029 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Little Compton borrows the most per resident of the 4 towns here. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Compton | Brownell Library, Home of Little Compton fine-free | 11.1 | 38 | A− |
| Tiverton | Tiverton Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 51 | C |
| Portsmouth | Portsmouth Free Public Library fine-free | 6.8 | 55 | B |
| Westport | Westport Free Public Library fine-free | 4.1 | 47 | 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 Little Compton
Does Little Compton have a public library?
Yes. Brownell Library, Home of Little Compton, 44 Commons, serves Little Compton’s 3,616 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Brownell Library, Home of Little Compton 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 Little Compton’s library?
It logged 6.4 visits and lent 11.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Little Compton’s civic life grade?
A− Little Compton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on civic life, #1 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 Little Compton.
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.