East Haven Public Library Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The Hagaman Memorial Library is the center for community enrichment and as such it seeks to provide information, resources, and programs for lifelong learning as well as to improve the quality of life of East Haven residents by providing a top notch collection of materials in multiple formats, current technology, and cultural opportunities.
- Income
- $994,913
- Spending
- $964,890
- Spent on programs
- 85%
- Reserves
- 9.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 91%
- Employees
- 29
- Volunteers
- 0
- Highest pay
- $71,741, library director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.9 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 3% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 2% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1585% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 84 out of 100. Higher than 74% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $294,179 spent. FY 2024-25 was a year of transformation for Hagaman Library. We experienced a significant flood in the building in April of 2025, which caused the temporary closure of the building for repairs. This closure continued for remainder of the fiscal year, with the library staff working diligently to provide programming and services in a number of new ways. To accommodate the continuation of programming and services, we worked to establish new and expanding community partnerships and outreach efforts, meeting members of the community in a number of new locations throughout the town. We were also able to grow our program offerings through $5,000 in grant funding and our most successful year of fundraising yet, which brought in roughly $14,000 in gifts and donations. The Library was open for 2,021 hours during the fiscal year and served 6,267 resident library card users with a collection of 73,201. In terms of circulation, the library served the community with circulation of physical materials including: 16,863 children's items; 1,917 teen items; and 25,820 adult items, for a grand total of 44,600 physical items borrowed. It is worth noting that this number was significantly impacted by the closure of the building from April through the end of the fiscal year, leading to a decrease in circulation of about 20 percent from the previous fiscal year. In addition, the library circulated 12,593 digital items including ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and movies. This is an 8 percent increase in digital circulation, demonstrating a growing need in the community for instant access to online materials, especially during periods when the physical collection is inaccessible. Total circulation for the year was 57,193, a 15 percent decrease from the previous year, due to the closure of the building for the last quarter. Even with this decrease, however, it is worth noting that this still represents a significant savings for the East Haven community. When library patrons borrow an item at no cost rather than buying the same item at retail price, they experience an immediate benefit. This year, this represents a savings to members of the East Haven community of roughly $850,000.
- $269,663 spent. In terms of technology, the library provides a significant service in access to a high-speed internet connection both inside and outside the building. The flood closure impacted these statistics as well, with only outdoor Wi-Fi accessible during the period from April through the end of the fiscal year. Even with this closure, however, the library provided 5,339 sessions on free public access computers and 50,854 sessions on the library's Public Wi-Fi. The library also provided 313 one-on-one drop-in tech help sessions and offered formal computer classes. The Library's Website (https://hagamanlibrary.org/), another service that should not be overlooked, had 18,257 visits during the fiscal year, which provided 24/7 access to research assistance, information on important local topics, and an online catalog of books, movies, and other materials.
- $253,320 spent. One of the most vital services the library offers is access to free programming. The Library provided a total of 623 in-person, on-site programs this year with attendance of 5,439. In addition to on-site programs, library staff partnered with other organizations in the community throughout the year to provide off-site programming and outreach; these off-site partnerships were further increased during the building closure. In total, the library provided 101 off-site programs, interacting with 1,635 members of the community. This represents a 201 percent increase over our outreach interactions in the previous fiscal year, and represents strong and growing relationships with our community partners, who provided vital support during this difficult time. The library also continued to offer virtual programs this year. This included 31 live viewing events and 20 prerecorded events. Total participation in these programs was 3,374. Finally, the library also offered opportunities for members of the community to participate in asynchronous programsself-directed activities available on your own schedule. The library offered 51 of these self-directed events during the year, with participation of 1,631. Total program participation for the year was 12,079.In addition to the multitude of library sponsored events above, the library also offered a community meeting space for 512 meetings of outside organizations, with outside group attendance of 6,181. Highlights for Library Programming: 1. Children's Programming: a. One highlight this fiscal year was the addition of a new Youth Services Librarian to our team, revitalizing programs with new ideas and a new skillset. b. Our strong early literacy program continued to thrive and grow under this new leadership. New programs for toddlers are in development, with additional musical events provided by Rob Messore and new innovations, like our "Toddler & Tots Bubble Ball" drawing in new families. We saw an increase in attendance for this age group during our new Toddler Tuesday programs. Similarly, our weekly Craft and Storytime program also saw an increase in attendance.c. The last quarter of the fiscal year saw significant changes following the closure of the building, as we adapted the majority of our youth programming to proceed off-site. Flexibility and fast thinking are key requirements to running youth events, and this was a chance to implement these skills.d. Collaboration withand outreach withinthe community were also essential to the library's success this year, particularly during youth services events. Many groups within the community, such as the town's Family Resource Center, local churches and schools, and the town's Community Dining Room provided us with venues for hosting programs. They also offered additional support during programs, providing an opportunity to collaborate in new ways. Many of these outreach opportunities were highly successful, and saw great attendance numbers. For more information on Children's Services, see the page at: https://www.hagamanlibrary.org/category/kids/2. Teen Programming:a. We saw significant success with recurring programs for teen audiences, which drew teens to return to the library month after month. These recurring programs included our Tabletop Club, which provides teens an opportunity to learn and play games that require creativity, writing, fast thinking, and social deduction; Anime Club; and Teen Crafternoon, which focused on a different skill each month. Tabletop Club especially has continued to see a regular group of attendees, even after a change in venue due to the closure of the building from April through the end of the fiscal year.b. Another highlight is our ongoing success with asynchronous programs. Offering take-and-make kits and other programs that can be completed on teen's own schedules has shown to be an excellent way to reach them and provide activities for this age group, especially those who may otherwise be unable to attend programming, either due to scheduling or ride conflicts. c. Community Service remains an important draw for our teenage patrons. We offer two main options for teens to earn community service at the library: our teen advisory group and individual scheduled hours. The Teen Advisory Group meets weekly on Fridays throughout the school year and provides teens with an opportunity to give direct feedback and input on the programs being offered to them, as well as vote on new titles to be added to the young adult collection and to decorate the teen room seasonally. This year, teen volunteers helped to plan and facilitate a giant version of the popular board game Ticket to Ride. Teen volunteers who scheduled individual hours assisted mainly with shelf-reading, shelving items, and checking for lost and missing items. A total of 85 teen volunteers contributed 150 hours of community service.d. Other accomplishments during the course of the year included the execution of activities for a summer enrichment grant for the EH Summer Gaming Academy. Developed in collaboration with our Children's Librarian, the EH Summer Gaming Academy was an 8-week program focusing on board and card games and culminating in participants designing and play-testing a board game of their own. For more information on Teen Services, see the page at: https://www.hagamanlibrary.org/category/teens/3. Adult Programming: a. The temporary closure of our building due to flood damage has created an opportunity for growth in our community partnerships and outreach participation. This has included the creation of a Satellite Library at the East Haven Senior Center, as well as programming at a number of community locations and outreach at East Haven senior communities.b. We also provided two workshops and multiple outreach events in collaboration with the East Shore District Health Department. This included Narcan training, as well as an especially popular workshop on protecting families from tick and mosquito-borne d
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Worth knowing.
Status was revoked on May 15, 2010 for not filing returns for three years. The IRS now lists it as tax-exempt again.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Worth knowing.
The IRS does not require this organization to file annual returns.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 2014.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.