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Library · Westbrook Center

Westbrook Public Library

Westbrook Public Library serves 6,881 people in and around Westbrook Center. Last year it lent 48K books, movies and e-books and logged 27K visits.

61 Goodspeed Dr., Westbrook 06498 · about 46 hours a week
Photo: John Phelan
Borrowed a year
48K
7 per resident
Visits a year
27K
4 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
172
about 3 a week · 1,882 attended
Cardholders
46%
3,159 cards
Open
46 hrs
a week

What stands out about Westbrook Public Library

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

★ What stands out · What your card is worth

For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.71 worth

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

In a month I’d use…
Books$17 each
1
Kids’ books$12 each
0
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
$66 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $454K.

Local taxes 95%State 1%Federal 0%Gifts & other 4%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $777K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $454K 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 3,159 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.

27K
visits
4 per resident
48K
loans, print + digital
7 per resident
172
programs & events
1,882 attended
3,159
library cards
46% of people served
Every open hour2items borrowed
Every week36people at a program
Every day19Wi-Fi sessions
5 staff (full-time equivalent)16 public computers56K books & media on the shelves
How it compares

Strongest at spending

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 visits · typical 3Higher than 64%
Borrowing per resident 5.3 print items · typical 3.8Higher than 66%
Digital borrowing 1.7 e-items · typical 1Higher than 70%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 52%
Program attendance 0.3 attendees · typical 0.5Lower than 71%
Programs offered 25 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Lower than 63%
Cardholders 46% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 56%
Spending $66 per resident · typical $43Higher than 75%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
In Connecticut
#74 of 173

library systems for visits per resident.

Size group

Westbrook Public Library serves 6,881 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

What people borrow

Mostly books and media off the shelf

48K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

48Kloans
Books & media (adults) 53%Kids’ books & media 22%E-books, audio & streaming 24%
How hard the shelves work
0.6×

Each of the 56K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.6 time last year, on average.

From your couch

11,718 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

Kids & programs

About 2 kids’ programs a week

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

Schools in Westbrook Center →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–592
Ages 6–1126
Teens15
Adults29
All ages10
Little ones
1.8

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

11K
kids’ books & media borrowed
1,882
people at programs
172
programs
The building

Find it

Westbrook Public Library, 61 Goodspeed Dr., Westbrook.

46
hours open a week
19,088
square feet
56K
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 Westbrook Center? The Handbook →

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

Next door

Libraries next door

Westbrook Center ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
Old SaybrookActon Public Library fine-free12.555
Westbrook CenterWestbrook Public Library fine-free7.046
WestbrookWestbrook Public Library fine-free7.046
Saybrook ManorNone 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 Westbrook Center.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Westbrook Public Library one of the best things about Westbrook Center?

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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