Dry Creek School · Photo: Jackie59715 · CC BY-SA 4.0Manhattan’s library runs 8.7 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Manhattan Community School Library serves 8,290 people in and around Manhattan. Last year it lent 23K books, movies and e-books and logged 15K visits.
Manhattan’s library, in brief
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Manhattan Community School Library sits below the middle on all seven per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on six. How it compares ↓
Few programs for a library this size
Manhattan Community School Library offered 72 programs last year, 8.7 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Most programs are for young children
68% of the 72 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 36 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; Manhattan Community School Library serves 8,290 people in and around Manhattan, and its numbers cover all of them.
What’s behind Manhattan’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Manhattan is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Manhattan is graded on two of the three inputs. Both inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups ranks highest.
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 →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Manhattan
5.6 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: education.
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 (3 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
11.6%
11.6% of Manhattan’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.0% in the typical Montana town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Manhattan’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Manhattan Community School Library serves 8,290 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 12 items go out
Fiscal year 2024, for the whole Manhattan Community School Library system. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
23K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
3,884 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card.
72 programs a year
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
Manhattan Community School Library, 200 W Fulton Ave, Manhattan.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Good at every Manhattan Community School Library branch.
New in Manhattan? 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 $2.07 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Manhattan cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $164K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $339K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $164K 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 1,777 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- System-wide. Manhattan Community School Library serves 8,290 people in and around Manhattan, so the yearly numbers cover all of them, not just Manhattan.
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 Manhattan
Does Manhattan have a public library?
Yes. Manhattan Community School Library, 200 W Fulton Ave, serves 8,290 people in and around Manhattan (the survey’s count) and is open about 36 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Manhattan Community School Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Manhattan’s library?
It logged 1.7 visits and lent 2.7 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Manhattan’s civic life grade?
A Manhattan is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Manhattan.
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.