Photo: Mitchazenia · CC BY-SA 4.0Alden’s library runs 0.8 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 34 for libraries its size
Ewell Free Library serves 9,706 people in and around Alden. Last year it lent 27K print books and media and logged 11K visits.
The short version on Alden’s library
Few programs for a library this size
Ewell Free Library offered 8 programs last year, 0.8 per 1,000 residents against a typical 34. Kids & programs ↓
Below typical on every measure
Against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, Ewell Free Library sits below the middle on all six per-resident measures we compare, and in the bottom 30% on three. How it compares ↓
Ewell Free Library serves more than Alden
The library’s service area covers 9,706 people in and around Alden, so its per-resident numbers are measured against that wider population. How it compares ↓
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.
What’s behind Alden’s civic life grade
On community nonprofits and volunteering, Alden is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #540 of 751 in New York. Alden is graded on two of the three inputs. The share of younger adults in volunteering groups holds the grade up; Alden’s count of community nonprofits pulls it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($53K–$88K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for 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 →
6 community nonprofits are registered in Alden
2.5 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
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.
7.8%
7.8% of Alden’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.4% in the typical New York 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 Alden’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Ewell Free Library serves 9,706 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 16 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
27K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.1 times last year, on average.
8 programs a year
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
Find it
Ewell Free Library, 13280 Broadway, Alden.
No late fees. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Alden? 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 $1.72 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Alden cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $248K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $428K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $248K 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 2,989 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. New York libraries often don’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 Alden
Does Alden have a public library?
Yes. Ewell Free Library, 13280 Broadway, serves 9,706 people in and around Alden (the survey’s count) and is open about 33 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Ewell Free Library fine-free?
Yes, no late fees (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Alden’s library?
It logged 1.2 visits and lent 2.8 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Alden’s civic life grade?
C Alden is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on civic life, #540 of 751 in New York. 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 Alden.
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.