Photo: Timothy J. Quill · CC BY-SA 4.0New Shoreham’s library runs 308 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Island Free Library serves New Shoreham’s 1,410 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and drew 4,956 people to its programs.
What New Shoreham’s library is like
More library cards than residents
2,134 cards for 1,410 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Island Free Library ran 434 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 308 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 4,956 attended. Kids & programs ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.9 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 95% of similar-size libraries. It’s 35% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
New Shoreham invests in its library
Island Free Library spends $402 per resident a year, about seven times the typical $54 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
A place to get online
Island Free Library logs about 74 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 16 public computers. That’s 19 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 New Shoreham’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, New Shoreham is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so New Shoreham is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs put New Shoreham near the top nationally; New Shoreham’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for New Shoreham’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out. What the library did report is strong: 434 programs, 308 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for its size.
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 →
34 community nonprofits are registered in New Shoreham
43.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
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 (6 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
20.4%
20.4% of New Shoreham’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 New Shoreham’s residents live; 2022.
About 4 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.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Island Free Library serves 1,410 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 11 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Not reported for 2024: visits. The survey fills a missing figure with its own estimate; we leave estimates out rather than show them as the library’s count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 28K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.5 time last year, on average.
6,852 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Island Free Library, 9 Dodge Street, New Shoreham.
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 New Shoreham? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average New Shoreham cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $567K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $433K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $567K 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 2,134 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Island Free Library didn’t report visits; the survey’s estimate is its own, so we leave it out and never rank it.
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 New Shoreham
Does New Shoreham have a public library?
Yes. Island Free Library, 9 Dodge Street, serves New Shoreham’s 1,410 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 34 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Island 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 New Shoreham’s library?
It lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 434 programs that drew 4,956 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is New Shoreham’s civic life grade?
A+ New Shoreham is among the top 1% 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 New Shoreham.
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.