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Library · Cold Spring Harbor · part of Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library

Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library

Cold Spring Harbor’s library is the Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library, a branch of Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library, which serves 8,479 people and lent 67K items last year.

95 Harbor Rd, Cold Spring Harbor 11724 · about 62 hours a week
Photo: DanTD
Borrowed a year
67K
7.9 per resident
Visits a year
70K
8.3 per resident · Above typical (3)
Programs & events
1,042
about 20 a week · 12K attended
Cardholders
69%
5,892 cards
Open
62 hrs
a week at this branch

What stands out about Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library

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

★ What stands out · Kids & programs

About 9 kids’ programs a week

Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.

Schools in Cold Spring Harbor →

Programs last year by age group

Ages 0–5237
Ages 6–11216
Teens182
Adults380
All ages27
Little ones
4.6

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

12K
kids’ books & media borrowed
12K
people at programs
1,042
programs
What people borrow

56% of borrowing is digital

67K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.

67Kloans
Books & media (adults) 26%Kids’ books & media 19%E-books, audio & streaming 56%
From your couch

37,508 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.

A year at the library

Every hour the doors are open, about 21 items go out

Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library system. The library’s own count.

70K
visits
8.3 per resident
67K
loans, print + digital
7.9 per resident
1,042
programs & events
12K attended
5,892
library cards
69% of people served
Every open hour21items borrowed
Every week236people at a program
Every day100Wi-Fi sessions
21 staff (full-time equivalent)15 public computers
What your card is worth

What a library card is worth

Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Cold Spring Harbor cardholder borrows.

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

Who pays for it
$287 per resident a year

Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $2.4M.

Local taxes 94%State 0%Gifts & other 6%

Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $2.4M 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 5,892 cardholders ÷ 12.

The building

Find it

Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library, 95 Harbor Rd, Cold Spring Harbor.

62
hours open a week
26,700
square feet
With a card

E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library branch.

New in Cold Spring Harbor? The Handbook →

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

How it compares

Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 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 8.3 visits · typical 3Top 10%
Borrowing per resident 3.5 print items · typical 3.8Lower than 54%
Digital borrowing 4.4 e-items · typical 1Top 10%
Kids’ borrowing 1.5 kids’ items · typical 1.6Lower than 54%
Program attendance 1.4 attendees · typical 0.5Higher than 89%
Programs offered 122.9 per 1,000 residents · typical 34Top 10%
Cardholders 69% of residents · typical 42%Higher than 78%
Spending $287 per resident · typical $43Top 10%
Fewer per residentMore per resident
Size group

Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library serves 8,479 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.

Next door

Libraries next door

Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.

12+ loans per resident8–124–8Under 4No library / shared system
TownLibraryLoans per residentHours
Cold Spring HarborCold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library—62
HuntingtonHarborfields Public Library fine-free—62
Oyster BaySyosset Public Library—68
Lloyd HarborNone of its own——
Laurel HollowNone of its own——
West HillsNone of its own——
WoodburyNone 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.
  • System-wide. Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library is one branch of Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 8,479 people it serves.

Book talk

Reading, story times and the library in Cold Spring Harbor.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Cold Spring Harbor Village Improvement Society Library one of the best things about Cold Spring Harbor?

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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