New Haven Free Public Library
New Haven Free Public Library is a municipal public library system based in New Haven, Connecticut, serving a legal service area of 135,319 residents through five library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 171 profiled systems in Connecticut, it ranks second for public computers, second for print volumes, third for population served and third for total visits.
Among the 358 profiled systems serving 100,000 to 249,999 residents, it ranks ninth for library floor space per resident. Against the median system of its size class, it records only 37% of the physical checkouts per resident and 2.3 times the public computers per resident.
New Haven against the 360 systems of its size class
New Haven, building by building
The five buildings cover 178,645 square feet in total, 1.32 square feet per resident against a median of 0.51 for the size class. The largest building is New Haven Free Public Library at 122,195 square feet; the smallest is Fair Haven Branch Library at 11,000. The longest hours are at New Haven Free Public Library, 54 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven Free Public Library | Central library | New Haven | 54 | 122,195 |
| Fair Haven Branch Library | Branch | New Haven | 39 | 11,000 |
| Mitchell Branch Library | Branch | New Haven | 39 | 14,250 |
| Stetson Branch Library | Branch | New Haven | 39 | 11,200 |
| Wilson Branch | Branch | New Haven | 39 | 20,000 |
New Haven in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 387,374
- Physical checkouts
- 152,742
- …of children's materials
- 72,424
- Electronic checkouts
- 56,413
- …of e-books
- 19,277
- …of e-audio
- 27,746
- Registered users
- 25,839
- Program sessions
- 2,549
- Program attendance
- 40,343
- Print volumes
- 289,338
- Audio items (physical)
- 7,490
- Video items (physical)
- 16,826
- Public computers
- 179
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 10,920
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 58.8
- Operating spending
- $7.9 million
- …on books and other materials
- $373,180
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where New Haven gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $6 million, or $44.14 per resident. The local-government share sits 4 percentage points above the combined share for the 170 profiled systems in Connecticut. Federal money made up 3.1% of the total.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
New Haven since FY 2019
Visits were 26% below the FY 2019 count of 522,216 (size-class median: −29%). Physical checkouts moved 48% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to New Haven programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 39% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 16 people each.
Municipal libraries of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, one records more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Kenosha Public Library in Wisconsin.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenosha Public Library | Kenosha, WI | 138,088 | 3.45 | 4.88 | $52.88 |
| Racine Public Library | Racine, WI | 137,874 | 2.16 | 3.18 | $29.90 |
| Elizabeth Free Public Library | Elizabeth, NJ | 137,298 | 2.55 | 0.90 | $33.99 |
| Hampton Public Library | Hampton, VA | 136,581 | 0.66 | 0.95 | $27.16 |
| Sterling Heights Public Library | Sterling Heights, MI | 134,346 | 1.33 | 2.61 | $22.75 |
| Helen Hall Library | League City, TX | 132,692 | 1.33 | 2.46 | $21.67 |
Nearest in size within Connecticut
- Ferguson Library · Stamford · 136,226 residents
- Bridgeport Public Library · Bridgeport · 148,028 residents
- Silas Bronson Library · Waterbury · 114,990 residents
- Danbury Public Library · Danbury · 86,124 residents