Photo: SusImposter49 · CC BY-SA 4.0South Kingstown’s library lends 5.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.7 for libraries its size
South Kingstown Public Library serves South Kingstown’s 31,931 residents from 3 locations. Last year it lent 258K books, movies and e-books and logged 91K visits.
The short version on South Kingstown’s library
Federal money pays a real share
2% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 73% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Three places to borrow in South Kingstown
South Kingstown Public Library runs three locations, and one card works at all of them. The buildings ↓
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 South Kingstown’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, South Kingstown is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #11 of 38 in Rhode Island. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; library visits pull 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 →
135 community nonprofits are registered in South Kingstown
4.2 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 (19 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 5 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
9.6%
9.6% of South Kingstown’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 South Kingstown’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 7 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
South Kingstown Public Library serves 31,931 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 41 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
258K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 82K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.3 times last year, on average.
72,952 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 6 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 South Kingstown last year.
3 places to borrow in South Kingstown
South Kingstown Public Library, 1057 Kingstown Road, South Kingstown.
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 South Kingstown? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Other libraries in South Kingstown
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 South Kingstown cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $1.4M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.4M 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 9,866 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
South Kingstown ranks 6th of 8 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+ |
| Charlestown | Cross' Mills Public Library fine-free | 11.7 | 42 | A− |
| Narragansett | Maury Loontjens Memorial Library (Narragansett) | 11.6 | 57 | A− |
| Narragansett Pier | Maury Loontjens Memorial Library (Narragansett) | 11.6 | 57 | — graded as part of its town |
| Exeter | Exeter Public Library fine-free | 9.2 | 43 | B |
| South Kingstown | South Kingstown Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 52 | B |
| Wakefield-Peace Dale | South Kingstown Public Library fine-free | 8.1 | 52 | — graded as part of its town |
| Richmond | Clark Memorial Library | 4.6 | 37 | B− |
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 South Kingstown
Does South Kingstown have a public library?
Yes. South Kingstown Public Library, 1057 Kingstown Road, serves South Kingstown’s 31,931 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 52 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is South Kingstown 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 South Kingstown’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 8.1 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is South Kingstown’s civic life grade?
B South Kingstown is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on civic life, #11 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 South Kingstown.
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.