Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fredonia’s library runs 306 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Fredonia Public Library serves Fredonia’s 1,341 residents. Last year it lent 4,604 print books and media and logged 14K visits.
Fredonia’s library, in brief
More library cards than residents
2,187 cards for 1,341 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
More of a place to be than a place to borrow
Visits per resident beat 91% of similar-size libraries, while borrowing beats only 45%. The building also logs about 2 Wi-Fi sessions a day. Program attendance beats 98% of similar libraries. A year at the library ↓
Five times the programs of a typical library its size
Fredonia Public Library ran 410 programs last year, about 8 a week. That’s 306 per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60. People show up: 8,424 attended. Kids & programs ↓
A small-town library
Fredonia Public Library serves 1,341 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 23 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
A big collection for the borrowing it gets
Fredonia Public Library holds 27,000 books and other items, but the average item went out less than once last year. What people borrow ↓
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; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Fredonia’s civic life grade
Fredonia isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
Fredonia has few registered community nonprofits
0.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: arts & culture.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (1 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Fredonia last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 5 of 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Fredonia Public Library serves 1,341 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 4 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
4,604 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 27K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.2 time last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Fredonia Public Library, 130 N Main St., Fredonia.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Fredonia? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.68 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Fredonia cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $94K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $157K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $94K 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 2,187 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. The library didn’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Fredonia
Does Fredonia have a public library?
Yes. Fredonia Public Library, 130 N Main St., serves Fredonia’s 1,341 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 23 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Fredonia Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Fredonia’s library?
It logged 10.5 visits and lent 3.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Fredonia’s civic life grade?
Fredonia isn’t graded on civic life: its library’s visits weren’t reported for 2024 and the volunteering estimate doesn’t cover enough of it. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Fredonia.
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.