Chester Public Library
Chester Public Library serves 3,761 people in and around Chester Center. Last year it lent 14K books, movies and e-books and logged 7,238 visits.
What stands out about Chester Public Library
Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Chester Center cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $240K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $239K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $240K 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 1,388 cardholders ÷ 12.
Every hour the doors are open, about 7 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Close to typical for its size
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 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.
Chester Public Library serves 3,761 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
14K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 15K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.
5,344 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 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.
Find it
Chester Public Library, 21 West Main Street, Chester.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Chester Center? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Libraries next door
Chester Center ranks 3rd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep River | Deep River Public Library | 4.7 | 42 |
| Deep River Center | Deep River Public Library | 4.7 | 42 |
| Chester Center | Chester Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 42 |
| Chester | Chester Public Library fine-free | 3.8 | 42 |
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 Chester Center.
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.