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Library · Northwest Harwinton

Harwinton Public Library

Harwinton Public Library serves 5,612 people in and around Northwest Harwinton. Last year it lent 47K books, movies and e-books and logged 23K visits.

80 Bentley Drive, Harwinton 06791 · about 46 hours a week
Borrowed a year
47K
8.4 per resident
Visits a year
23K
4.2 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
299
about 6 a week · 5,150 attended
Cardholders
44%
2,466 cards
Open
46 hrs
a week

What stands out about Harwinton Public Library

Read from the library’s own yearly report. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 3 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.

Schools in Northwest Harwinton →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–596
Ages 6–1134
Teens23
Adults115
All ages31
Little ones
1.8

story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.

21K
kids’ books & media borrowed
5,150
people at programs
299
programs
What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.90 worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Northwest Harwinton cardholder borrows.

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
1
E-books & audio$15 each
0
Movies & music$4 each
0
Programs & classes$10 a program
0
Computer & Wi-Fi$3 a session
0
Your card saves you about
$0
a year at retail prices · $0 a month

Who pays for it
$45 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $252K.

Local taxes 85%State 1%Gifts & other 13%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $730K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $252K 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 2,466 cardholders ÷ 12.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 20 items go out

Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.

23K
visits
4.2 per resident
47K
loans, print + digital
8.4 per resident
299
programs & events
5,150 attended
2,466
library cards
44% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week99people at a program
Every week450visits
4 staff (full-time equivalent)4 public computers33K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 of 8 measures

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.

Visits per resident 4.2 visits · typical 3Higher than 67%
Borrowing per resident 6.8 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 79%
Digital borrowing 1.6 e-items · typical 1Higher than 68%
Kids’ borrowing 3.7 kids’ items · typical 1.6Higher than 84%
Program attendance 0.9 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 75%
Programs offered 53.3 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Higher than 70%
Cardholders 44% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 53%
Spending $45 per resident · typical $43Higher than 53%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Connecticut
#65 of 173

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Harwinton Public Library serves 5,612 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

What people borrow

Almost half the print loans are kids’ books

47K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

47Kloans
Books & media (adults) 37%Kids’ books & media 44%E-books, audio & streaming 19%
How hard the shelves work
1.2×

Each of the 33K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.

From your couch

8,958 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

The building

Find it

Harwinton Public Library, 80 Bentley Drive, Harwinton.

46
hours open a week
6,021
square feet
33K
books & media
With a card

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 Northwest Harwinton? The Handbook →

Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.

Next door

Libraries next door

Northwest Harwinton ranks 2nd of 5 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
LitchfieldOliver Wolcott Library fine-free14.948
Northwest HarwintonHarwinton Public Library fine-free8.446
HarwintonHarwinton Public Library fine-free8.446
TorringtonTorrington Library Association fine-free1.949
New HartfordBakerville Library, Inc. fine-free0.631

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 Northwest Harwinton.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Harwinton Public Library one of the best things about Northwest Harwinton?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

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.

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