Mastic Beach Branch
Mastic Beach’s library is the Mastic Beach Branch, a branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, which serves 50,285 people and lent 223K items last year.
Mastic Beach’s library, in brief
A well-funded system
The Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib system spends $159 per resident a year, about four times the typical $40 for a library its size. Almost all of it (98%) comes from local taxes. What your card is worth ↓
Twice the programs of a typical library its size
The Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib system ran 1,733 programs last year, about 33 a week. That’s 34 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 14. Kids & programs ↓
Open about 65 hours a week
The Mastic Beach branch is open about 65 hours a week, averaged over the year. The building ↓
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; Mastic Beach’s library is a branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, so they cover the whole system (50,285 people), not just the Mastic Beach branch.
About 11 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, across the whole system, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Mastic Beach cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $8M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $3.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $8M 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 25,199 cardholders ÷ 12.
Find it
Mastic Beach Branch, 369 Neighborhood Road, Mastic Beach.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib branch.
New in Mastic Beach? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Every hour the doors are open, about 22 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib system. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 3 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.
Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib serves 50,285 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
223K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
84,911 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mastic Beach | Mastic Beach Branch fine-free | — | 65 |
| Shirley | 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.
- System-wide. Mastic Beach Branch is one branch of Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Lib, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 50,285 people it serves.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Mastic Beach.
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.