Trinity Episcopal Church · Photo: Wabbit98 · CC BY-SA 4.0Groton’s library logs 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Wage Memorial Library serves Groton’s 1,355 residents. Last year it lent 1,574 books, movies and e-books and logged 650 visits.
The short version on Groton’s library
Wage Memorial Library is used less than most libraries its size
Wage Memorial Library records 0.5 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people. Borrowing is 0.8 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9. It also spends less than most: $7 per resident, against a typical $54. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Wage Memorial Library serves 1,355 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 43 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Runs on less money than most
Wage Memorial Library spends $7 per resident, less than 99% of similar-size libraries (typical: $54). What your card is worth ↓
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 Groton’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Groton is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. Groton’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($67K–$112K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
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 →
12 community nonprofits are registered in Groton
7.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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 (3 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.
6.1%
6.1% of Groton’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 6.9% in the typical South Dakota 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 Groton’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Wage Memorial Library serves 1,355 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
A year at Wage Memorial Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
1,574 loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 6,730 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
509 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
22 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 Groton last year.
Find it
Wage Memorial Library, 120 N Main Street, Groton.
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 Groton? 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 $4.47 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Groton cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $8,809.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $39K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8,809 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 600 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Wage Memorial Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Groton
Does Groton have a public library?
Yes. Wage Memorial Library, 120 N Main Street, serves Groton’s 1,355 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 43 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Wage Memorial 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 Groton’s library?
It logged 0.5 visits and lent 1.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Groton’s civic life grade?
C Groton is ahead of 31% 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 Groton.
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.