Norwalk’s library runs 110 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Norwalk Public Library serves Norwalk’s 1,136 residents. Last year it lent 5,893 print books and media and logged 5,569 visits.
The short version on Norwalk’s library
A small-town library
Norwalk Public Library serves 1,136 residents with about one full-time staff, open about 30 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 ↓
A place to get online
Norwalk Public Library logs about 23 Wi-Fi sessions a day and has 3 public computers. That’s 7.4 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 Norwalk’s civic life grade
Norwalk isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Norwalk Public Library serves 1,136 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
5,893 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 7,462 books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.8 time last year, on average.
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 Norwalk last year.
Find it
Norwalk Public Library, 101 Railroad St., Norwalk.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Norwalk? 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 $2.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Norwalk cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $50K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $134K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $50K 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 386 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
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 Norwalk
Does Norwalk have a public library?
Yes. Norwalk Public Library, 101 Railroad St., serves Norwalk’s 1,136 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 30 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Norwalk 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 Norwalk’s library?
It logged 4.9 visits and lent 5.2 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Norwalk’s civic life grade?
Norwalk isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Norwalk.
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.