Syracuse’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Syracuse Public Library serves Syracuse’s 1,974 residents. Last year it lent 28K books, movies and e-books and logged 16K visits.
Syracuse’s library, in brief
A small-town library
Syracuse Public Library serves 1,974 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 38 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 ↓
Syracuse is a town of borrowers
Syracuse Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, more than 89% of similar-size libraries. What people borrow ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 2.8 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 85% of similar-size libraries. It’s 20% of all loans. 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 Syracuse’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Syracuse is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Syracuse’s count of community nonprofits 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 →
18 community nonprofits are registered in Syracuse
9.1 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
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 (4 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.0%
10.0% of Syracuse’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Nebraska 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 Syracuse’s residents live; 2022.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
28K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 18K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.2 time last year, on average.
5,484 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on 6 of 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Syracuse Public Library serves 1,974 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 14 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program 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 Syracuse last year.
Find it
Syracuse Public Library, 480 5th Street, Syracuse.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Syracuse? 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 $2.40 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Syracuse cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $180K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $431K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $180K 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 1,644 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Visits are a typical-week estimate. Syracuse Public Library counted one typical week and multiplied by 52, as the survey allows.
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 Syracuse
Does Syracuse have a public library?
Yes. Syracuse Public Library, 480 5th Street, serves Syracuse’s 1,974 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Syracuse 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 Syracuse’s library?
It logged 8.2 visits and lent 14.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Syracuse’s civic life grade?
A+ Syracuse is ahead of 96% 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 Syracuse.
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.