Photo: Praiawart · CC BY 4.0Darien’s library runs 31 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Darien Public Library serves Darien’s 2,506 residents. Last year it lent 12K books, movies and e-books and drew 1,018 people to its programs.
What Darien’s library is like
Most programs are for young children
67% of the 78 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 24 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Darien Public Library holds 35,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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 Darien’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Darien is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Its library’s 2024 visits weren’t reported, so Darien is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; Darien’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
The survey’s stand-in for Darien’s 2024 visits is its own estimate, so it is left out.
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 →
10 community nonprofits are registered in Darien
8.9 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.
8.2%
8.2% of Darien’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.6% in the typical Wisconsin 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 Darien’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Darien Public Library serves 2,506 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 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.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
12K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 35K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.3 time last year, on average.
2,029 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Darien last year.
Find it
Darien Public Library, 47 Park St., Darien.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Darien? 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 $1.25 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Darien cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $153K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $192K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $153K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 1,564 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Not reported for 2024: visits. Darien Public 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 Darien
Does Darien have a public library?
Yes. Darien Public Library, 47 Park St., serves Darien’s 2,506 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 35 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Darien Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Darien’s library?
It lent 5.0 items per resident in 2024 (print and digital) and ran 78 programs that drew 1,018 people. Visits weren’t reported for 2024.
What is Darien’s civic life grade?
A Darien is ahead of 86% 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 Darien.
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.