#1Westerly
Washington County · 23,139 peopleVisits per resident a year·Westerly Public Library, FY 2024
Westerly, #1 on this list · Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Rhode Island rankings · Libraries
Towns with the most-used libraries in Rhode Island
Westerly has the most-used library of Rhode Island’s 29 towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own: 9.7 visits per resident a year at Westerly Public Library (IMLS Public Libraries Survey). The typical library here counts 3.4.
IMLS Public Libraries Survey: a year’s visits divided by the people the library serves. Only a library that serves one town (80–125% of its population) and reported its own count is ranked; IMLS estimates never are. A described list: no letters. How grades work
#19.7visits
#2Barrington
Bristol County · 16,961 peopleVisits per resident a year·Barrington Public Library, FY 2024
#3Newport
Newport County · 24,251 peopleVisits per resident a year·Newport Public Library, FY 2024
All 29 towns
Visits per resident, highest first.
29 towns ranked. Not here? See why a town may be missing.
#TownVisits per residentPeople servedLibrary
5Little ComptonNewport County · 3,535 people3,616Brownell Library, Home of Little ComptonIMLS, FY 2024
7NarragansettWashington County · 14,291 people14,532Maury Loontjens Memorial Library (Narragansett)IMLS, FY 2024
24North SmithfieldProvidence County · 12,990 people12,588North Smithfield Public LibraryIMLS, FY 2024
Quick answers
Questions people ask
Which Rhode Island town has the most-used library?
Westerly (Washington County): Westerly Public Library counts 9.7 visits per resident a year. Barrington (8.8) and Newport (8.6) follow.
How are these towns ranked?
By library visits per resident in the IMLS Public Libraries Survey: the visits a town’s own library reported, divided by the population it serves, highest first. It is the same rank as on each town’s Library & civic life page. How grades work.
Why isn’t my town on this list?
The list covers towns of 2,500+ with a library of their own that reported its visits (29 in Rhode Island). Towns served by a county or regional system share its figure and aren’t ranked one by one; figures IMLS estimated for a library that didn’t report aren’t ranked; in states with strong townships the township, not a village inside it, is ranked. Every town is on the Rhode Island page.
Go deeper
All Rhode Island rankings →More Rhode Island lists
Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.
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