Byram Shubert Branch Library
Greenwich Library serves 63,574 people in and around Byram. Last year it lent 962K books, movies and e-books and logged 492K visits.
The short version on Byram’s library
Byram uses its library more than almost any town its size
Greenwich Library logs 7.7 visits per resident, against a typical 2.6 for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people, and lends 9.1 print items per resident against a typical 3.7. On both counts it beats 87% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
Gifts and endowments pay a real share
47% of the library’s income comes from gifts, endowments, fees and other sources, not taxes. Local taxes cover 53%. What your card is worth ↓
Byram invests in its library
Greenwich Library spends $171 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. What your card is worth ↓
40% of borrowing happens on a screen
E-books, e-audiobooks and streaming make up 40% of loans, more per resident than at 98% of similar-size libraries. Print still makes up 60%, much of it kids’ books. What people borrow ↓
Programs draw a crowd
62,000 people came to the library’s 1,803 programs last year: 1 per resident, against a typical 0.3, more than at 94% of similar-size libraries. Kids & programs ↓
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.
Every hour the doors are open, about 120 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 16 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.
40% of borrowing is digital
962K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 287K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2 times last year, on average.
386,253 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Byram cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $11M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $15M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $11M 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 23,317 cardholders ÷ 12.
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. A tiny town’s library always looks busier per person, so it’s only compared with its own size.
library systems for visits per resident.
Greenwich Library serves 63,574 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Find it
Byram Shubert Branch Library, 21 Mead Ave., Greenwich.
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 Byram? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Byram | Byram Shubert Branch Library fine-free | 15.1 | 45 |
| Greenwich | Greenwich Library fine-free | 15.1 | 63 |
| Port Chester | Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library | — | 55 |
| Rye | Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library | — | 55 |
| Pemberwick | None of its own | — | — |
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.
About these numbers
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Hours are an average. The survey reports a building’s public hours for the whole year. We divide by the weeks it was open, so check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
- Compared by size. “Similar-size” means libraries serving about as many people, nationwide. Per-resident numbers always flatter the smallest towns, so they’re never compared with big cities.
- 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.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Byram.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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.