Connecticut Public LIbraries See Substantial Growth in Key Areas During 2025
/The Connecticut State Library has released two reports that share the annual data and trends for Connecticut’s public libraries. The two reports, CT’s Public Libraries: A Statistical Profile (2023-2025) and Statistical Trends in CT Public Libraries, 2025 highlight data and trends in public libraries across the state.
Following the end of each fiscal year, the CT State Library collects data from public libraries through the State Annual Report which includes a combination of national questions provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and state questions created specifically for Connecticut’s public libraries, according to State Library officials.
The statistics compiled in this year’s Profile are based on the FY2025 Annual Reports submitted by CT public libraries in the fall of 2025. The Statistical Trends publication identifies and analyzes trends in the use and management of CT public libraries over roughly the past decade.
The report tracks a myriad of tendencies and developments from the significant increase in the use of public libraries as community meeting space to the exponential growth of audiobook circulation to the drifts and movements of staffing, revenue, and expenditures.
As these reports demonstrate, many Connecticut public library use measures statewide have continued to grow. Namely, library visits, circulation, and program attendance have all increased, with library visits increasing by 8% since FY2024.
Libraries across CT were visited by over 14.3 million people in FY2025. Alongside these upward trends, there are several highlights:
Audio downloads have jumped by 19% since last year and over 120% since FY2019, showing the popularity of apps like Libby, Hoopla, and Palace Project.
The number of non-library community meetings held in libraries rose to over 80,000 in FY2025, a number that continues to rise with an increase of over 56% from last year, demonstrating the libraries meeting communities’ needs for space.
WiFi use inside public library buildings has jumped 21% from last year to 5.6 million with only 100 libraries reporting.
“Statistics and numbers can demonstrate the impact of Connecticut’s public libraries in just as meaningful a way as personal stories,” said Deborah Schander, Connecticut State Librarian. “Year after year, these reports provide irrefutable evidence of the vital role libraries do – and will continue to – play in each of our communities.”
As in recent years, the CT State Library Division of Library Development will release a #CTLibrariesTrends social media series on both Facebook and Instagram in the lead up to the American Library Association’s National Library Week, April 19-25, 2026.
Over 65% of libraries provide assistive technology to the deaf and 56% provide assistive technology for the blind. In addition, 53% of libraries make their digital content accessible and 53% provide sensory programs and spaces for their patrons.
The Connecticut State Library is an independent Executive Branch agency of the State of Connecticut. It is home to the State Archives, Office of the Public Records Administrator, Museum of Connecticut History, the Division of Library Development and the Connecticut Library for Accessible Books, and three reference departments (history and genealogy; law and legislation; and government information). Through these units, the agency provides a variety of archival, public records, museum, library, information, and administrative services.
