Vanderbilt’s library is a branch of Otsego County Library, which lends less per resident than 53% of systems its size
Vanderbilt’s library is the Vanderbilt Branch Library, a branch of Otsego County Library, which serves 25,091 people and lent 130K items last year.
Vanderbilt’s library, in brief
Open only about 20 hours a week
The Vanderbilt branch keeps short hours: about 20 a week, averaged over the year, so check its schedule before you go. The building ↓
Most programs are for young children
72% of the 190 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including about 1 a week for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
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; Vanderbilt’s library is a branch of Otsego County Library, so they cover the whole system (25,091 people), not just the Vanderbilt branch.
What’s behind Vanderbilt’s civic life grade
Vanderbilt isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more.
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 →
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 4 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people across the U.S.
Otsego County Library serves 25,091 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 27 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Otsego County Library system. The library’s own count.
Almost half the print loans are kids’ books
130K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
42,187 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 3 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.
Find it
Vanderbilt Branch Library, 8170 Mill Street, Vanderbilt.
E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy. Good at every Otsego County Library branch.
New in Vanderbilt? 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 $2.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Vanderbilt cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $40. Operating budget $777K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $777K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
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 12,772 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Vanderbilt Branch Library is one branch of Otsego County Library, so the yearly numbers cover every branch and all 25,091 people it serves.
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 Vanderbilt
Does Vanderbilt have a public library?
Yes: Vanderbilt Branch Library, 8170 Mill Street, is a branch of Otsego County Library, which serves 25,091 people. The branch is open about 20 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Otsego County Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
It charges late fines on some overdue items, and it lends e-books and audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Vanderbilt’s library?
It logged 2.8 visits and lent 5.2 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 2.6 visits for libraries serving 25,000 to 100,000 people.
What is Vanderbilt’s civic life grade?
Vanderbilt isn’t graded on civic life: TownRatings grades towns of 1,000 residents or more. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Vanderbilt.
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.